as in thrills
to cause a pleasurable stimulation of the feelings
tabloids titillate their readers with racy details about the private lives of media-created celebrities
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Recent Examples of titillates
The designs were puckish and gender-bending, evoking both awe and repulsion—the sort of clothing that titillates lovers of conceptual fashion and bewilders the uninitiated.
—
Ana Karina Zatarain, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
The poet titillates, commands by images—and only thus persuades.
—Elaine L. Wang
september 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Ana Karina Zatarain, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
The poet titillates, commands by images—and only thus persuades.
—Elaine L. Wang
september 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for titillates
Verb
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But all that intensity and power unappreciated by that Belle Epoque audience now thrills us to our core.—
Luis Palomares,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
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The mind thrills to imagine a genderless prophet among the brocades and buckskin breeches of Revolutionary America, weirding out the normies, sticking a flower in the barrel of a musket, and goading the new nation to let its hair down—literally.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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But what excites you about doing the 50-km distance race?—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
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Find something that excites you.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The star of Maggie Gyllenhaal's bold, new take on the Bride of Frankenstein electrifies in EW's cover story photoshoot.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Feb. 2026
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Seyfried’s performance elevates, even electrifies, the film, as does the decision to replicate Shaker worship through song and movement numbers, all of which are choreographed and performed to a spellbinding extent.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.—
Eric Sullivan,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
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These breakfast delights might move you from the cinnamon roll camp into a whole different delight for your palate.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Titillates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/titillates. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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