Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

stimulus

/ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.82 in modern English

Syllables: stim-u-lus
IPA: /ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/

10

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An external phenomenon that has an influence on a system, by triggering or modifying an internal phenomenon; for example, a spur or incentive that drives a person to take action or change behaviour.

noun

Something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response, or that affects any of the sensory apparatuses.

noun

A stinging part on the body of a plant or insect.

Example Sentences

"an economic stimulus"
"From the beginning of the show to the end, vanity is the sole stimulus and reward of action—vanity, that never looks beyond the present."
"Democrats, meanwhile, point out that Republicans seem to have made a conscious decision, beginning with the stimulus, to oppose anything the president put forward, dooming any chance of renewed cooperation between the parties."
"respond to a stimulus"
"Even light nonpainful stimuli can provoke or exacerbate spontaneous pain; this is not limited to tactile, thermal, or vibratory stimuli, because auditory, visual, olfactory, and visceral stimuli also may be problematic."
"Many plants, like many animals, are furnished with arms for their protection; these are either aculei, prickles […]; or stimuli, stings, as in the nettles, which are armed with a venomous fluid for the annoyance of naked animals."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin stimulus (“goad, prick”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/

Inflected Forms

stimuluses (plural) stimuli (plural)

Derived Forms

antistimulus chemostimulus contrastimulus costimulus counterstimulus extrastimulus gravistimulus hyperstimulus interstimulus mechanostimulus microstimulus peristimulus

Phrases

discriminative stimulus external stimulus noxious stimulus poverty of the stimulus stimulus check stimulus delta stimulus-response time

Synonyms

influence impetus impulse spur trigger stimulation stimulant input

Questions

How do you pronounce stimulus?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/.
What does stimulus mean?: An external phenomenon that has an influence on a system, by triggering or modifying an internal phenomenon; for example, a spur or incentive that drives a person to take action or change behaviour.
Where does stimulus come from?: Borrowed from Latin stimulus (“goad, prick”).

How to pronounce stimulus

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “stimulus”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “stimulus”.
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