Synonyms of stimulating

stimulating 1 of 2

adjective

ˈstim-yə-ˌlā-tiŋ 

1

as in exciting

causing great emotional or mental stimulation

enjoys the good food and stimulating conversation at his best friend's house

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exciting
• breathtaking
• interesting
• thrilling
• intriguing
• inspiring
• exhilarating
• electrifying
• gripping
• electric
• intoxicating
• provocative
• galvanizing
• rousing
• fascinating
• galvanic
• lively
• absorbing
• mind-blowing
• stirring
• mind-bending
• rip-roaring
• kicky
• tantalizing
• engrossing
• mind-boggling
• riveting
• heart-stopping
• exhilarative
• moving
• charged
• hair-raising
• enchanting
• titillating
• enthralling
• touching
• arresting
• dynamic
• energetic
• spellbinding
• poignant
• high-voltage
• kinetic
• lusty

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• boring
• tedious
• tiresome
• unexciting
• dull
• monotonous
• uninteresting
• dreary
• mind-numbing
• humdrum

2

as in refreshing

having a renewing effect on the state of the body or mind

a brisk, stimulating walk on a bright, clear wintry day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• refreshing
• restorative
• reviving
• vitalizing
• stimulative
• rejuvenating
• vital
• bracing
• invigorating
• tonic
• medicinal
• cordial
• healthy
• beneficial
• therapeutic
• strengthening
• exhilarating
• helpful
• life-giving
• animating
• conditioning
• sharp
• healthful
• quickening
• curative
• remedial
• corrective
• rehabilitative
• salutary
• salubrious
• wholesome
• reformative
• reparative
• curing
• recuperative
• rectifying
• reformatory
• remedying
• exhilarative

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• draining
• weakening
• exhausting
• debilitating
• deadening
• numbing
• injurious
• deleterious
• pernicious
• enervating
• sapping
• wearying
• enfeebling
• noxious
• unhealthy
• unwholesome
• unhealthful
• insalubrious

3

as in provocative

serving or likely to arouse a strong reaction

an article containing a stimulating argument for raising, not lowering, the tax on gasoline

Synonyms & Similar Words

• provocative
• charged
• exciting
• provoking
• motivating
• motivational
• motivative
• inciting
• edgy
• inspiring
• instigating
• triggering
• inflammatory
• explosive
• piquing
• instigative
• inducing
• inspirational
• incendiary
• energizing
• activating
• vitalizing
• teasing
• aggravating
• irritating
• upsetting
• quickening
• maddening
• fiery
• annoying
• exasperating
• vexing
• galvanizing
• irksome
• bothersome
• vexatious
• taunting
• enraging
• jeering
• galling
• pesky
• angering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• noninflammatory
• subduing

stimulating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of stimulate

1

as in arousing

to give life, vigor, or spirit to

research into alternative energy sources has been stimulated by this funding increase

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arousing
• energizing
• invigorating
• enlivening
• provoking
• stirring
• exciting
• vitalizing
• electrifying
• animating
• activating
• awakening
• inspiring
• jump-starting
• motivating
• vivifying
• triggering
• bracing
• driving
• quickening
• spiking
• reviving
• strengthening
• cheering
• rousing
• firing
• sparking
• lifting
• recreating
• boosting
• zipping (up)
• propelling
• awaking
• jazzing (up)
• pepping (up)
• raising
• filliping
• livening (up)
• amping (up)
• charging
• rallying
• moving
• gingering (up)
• refreshing
• juicing up
• galvanizing
• motiving
• waking (up)
• resurrecting
• renewing
• impelling
• inciting
• actuating
• reinvigorating
• infusing
• fomenting
• rejuvenating
• enflaming
• buoying
• revitalizing
• instigating
• inflaming
• regenerating
• reenergizing
• kindling
• fortifying
• reactivating
• reawakening
• fermenting
• enkindling
• setting off
• whipping (up)
• rekindling
• emboldening
• recharging
• restimulating
• heartening
• abetting
• resuscitating
• turning on
• re-energizing
• reanimating
• refreshening
• steeling
• reawaking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• killing
• deadening
• dampening
• damping
• dulling
• undermining
• draining
• exhausting
• wearing
• enervating
• harassing
• weakening
• inhibiting
• debilitating
• sapping
• fatiguing
• knocking out
• restraining
• burning out
• suppressing
• wearing out
• wearying
• checking
• slowing
• doing in
• curbing
• washing out
• quenching
• repressing
• quelling
• discouraging
• stunting
• enfeebling
• stilling
• daunting
• demoralizing
• kayoing
• fagging
• disheartening
• tuckering (out)
• jading
• dispiriting

2

as in provoking

to rouse to strong feeling or action

the government crackdown has only stimulated the citizenry to more acts of violence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• provoking
• encouraging
• arousing
• inspiring
• exciting
• stirring
• motivating
• moving
• sparking
• inciting
• inducing
• instigating
• triggering
• firing (up)
• driving
• revving (up)
• energizing
• piquing
• igniting
• impassioning
• activating
• vitalizing
• galvanizing
• motiving
• building a fire under
• inflaming
• kindling
• animating
• fanning
• angering
• quickening
• fomenting
• bothering
• enraging
• setting off
• enflaming
• upsetting
• fermenting
• keying (up)
• abetting
• whipping (up)
• teasing
• raising
• irritating
• aggravating
• maddening
• pumping up
• getting
• exasperating
• taunting
• jeering
• annoying
• vexing
• galling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• soothing
• calming
• subduing
• tranquilizing
• tranquillizing
• pacifying
• appeasing
• placating
• mollifying

Examples of stimulating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Birds, too, may find a storm a stimulating challenge. —Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 26 Sep. 2024

In general, the IVF process involves stimulating ovulation, retrieving those eggs from the ovaries, fertilizing them with sperm in a lab, and then transferring the embryo into the uterus in hopes of achieving a pregnancy. —Jenna Ryu, SELF, 12 Sep. 2024

Enjoying a hobby is mentally stimulating and gives you something to look forward to. —Nancy L. Anderson, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024

In that sense, playing in places other than Japan is very stimulating. —Billboard Japan, Billboard, 6 Sep. 2024