Dictionary

stimulus en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈstɪm.jə.ləs/ (US)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. 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.
   • 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. 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times:
   • 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. 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 174:
   • respond to a stimulus
2. Something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response, or that affects any of the sensory apparatuses.
   • 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. 2002, Kim Burchiel, Surgical Management of Pain, Thieme, →ISBN, page 44:
3. A stinging part on the body of a plant or insect.
   • 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. 1789, Erasmus Darwin, The Loves of the Plants, J. Johnson, page 15:

Forms

Deriveds

interstimulus · poverty of the stimulus · mechanostimulus · counterstimulus · peristimulus · hyperstimulus · tristimulus · contrastimulus · photostimulus · discriminative stimulus · gravistimulus · extrastimulus · stimulus delta · poststimulus · prestimulus · costimulus · stimulus check · Porkulus · stimulus-response time · chemostimulus · superstimulus · external stimulus · antistimulus · stimulon · microstimulus · noxious stimulus

Synonyms

influence (anything that may have an impact or influence) · trigger (anything that may have an impact or influence) · impulse (anything that may have an impact or influence) · spur (anything that may have an impact or influence) · impetus (anything that may have an impact or influence)

Translations (54)

nl stimulus (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · fi stimulus (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · nl incentief (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · it stimolo (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · nl incentief (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · pt estímulo (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · ru побуди́тель (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · ja 刺激 (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · fr stimulus (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · nl prikkel (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · ru сти́мул (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · ru стимуля́тор (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · nl stimulans (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · fi kannuste (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · es estímulo (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · nl prikkel (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · da stimulans (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · bg подтик (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · hu inger (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · bg подбуда (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · sq nxitje (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · pl bodziec (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · fi kiihoke (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · ca estímul (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · fa مُحَرِّک (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · la stimulus (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · nl stimulans (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · pt estímulo (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · ru сти́мул (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · el ερέθισμα (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · tl ganyak (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · hy ազդակ (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · hy ազդակ (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · fi vaikute (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · fi stimulus (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · gl estímulo (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · de Auslöseimpuls (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · nl stimulus (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · fi ärsyke (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · fi heräte (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · cmn 刺激物 (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · el ερέθισμα (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · de Stimulus (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · da stimulans (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · ca estímul (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · ro stimul (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · es apetite (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · es estímulo (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · fi ärsyke (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · cs podnět (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · pl bodziec (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · bg стимул (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response) · es apetite (anything that may have an impact or influence on a system) · ro stimul (something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response)