excited
/ɪkˈsaɪtɪd/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪkˈsaɪtɪd/ (ame, ipa) · /ik-ˈsī-təd ek-/ (ame, mw)
excited — adjective
- excitedpositive
- more excitedcomparative
- most excitedsuperlative
1. feeling or showing great happiness and energy because something enjoyable or int
feeling or showing great happiness and energy because something enjoyable or interesting is going to happen or has just happened
Amelia was excited about her trip to Japan next month.
excited about + event/noun phrase
Lucía got really excited when she heard the news about her scholarship.
get excited (linking verb pattern)
The children were too excited to sleep the night before the festival.
Kian felt excited that his cousin would stay with them for the whole summer.
The excited fans waved their banners and cheered loudly at the stadium.
- thrilled
stronger than excited; implies great joy and a sense of delight
- eager
focuses more on wanting something to happen soon; less emotional than excited
- enthusiastic
suggests sustained positive interest rather than a burst of emotion
- pumped
very informal, US slang; means full of high energy and anticipation
- bored
feeling uninterested or tired of something
- indifferent
not caring one way or the other
文法句型
be + excited + about + noun/gerund
get + excited + about + noun/gerund
be + excited + to + infinitive
be + excited + that + clause
用法筆記
Commonly followed by 'about' (for events or ideas) or a to-infinitive (for actions). The pattern 'too excited to + verb' is a fixed construction showing that excitement prevents another action.
常見錯誤
2. not particularly interested, impressed, or enthusiastic about something because
not particularly interested, impressed, or enthusiastic about something because it seems ordinary, disappointing, or unappealing
Ishaan said the café's new menu was nothing to get excited about.
nothing to get excited about (idiomatic expression)
The film got mixed reviews — most viewers found it nothing to get excited about.
When Gabriel asked about the pay raise, his manager said it was nothing to get excited about.
To be honest, Otis was not excited about the idea of another long training session.
- unimpressed
more direct; suggests the thing failed to meet expectations
- underwhelmed
slightly humorous or ironic; expecting more but getting less
- indifferent
neutral, not caring either way
文法句型
not + excited + about + noun/gerund
nothing + to get excited about
用法筆記
This sense is used almost exclusively in negative statements. The fixed expression 'nothing to get excited about' is the most common form and means 'not particularly good or impressive'. Distinguish from sense 1: in sense 1, 'not excited' simply means you lack positive feelings; in sense 2, it implies you find the thing itself underwhelming.
常見錯誤
❌ 'I was not excited about the film' (meaning it was bad) — This could mean sense 1 or 2 depending on context. For clarity, use 'nothing to get excited about' when you mean the thing itself was mediocre.
3. describing an atom, electron, or molecule that has absorbed energy and moved to
describing an atom, electron, or molecule that has absorbed energy and moved to a higher energy level than its normal resting state
An excited atom releases energy when it returns to its normal state.
excited + atom (attributive scientific use)
The laser works by creating a large number of excited electrons inside the crystal.
When excited particles lose their extra energy, they give off light.
Scientists measured how long the excited molecules stayed in that state.
- ground-state
the lowest energy state of an atom or molecule
- stable
not in an excited or reactive state
文法句型
excited + state
excited + atom/electron/molecule/particle
in an excited state
用法筆記
Technical term used primarily in physics and chemistry. The noun form 'excitation' (C1) is also common in these fields. Not used in everyday conversation. The opposite term is 'ground state'.