titillate

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“
Surely A.J.P. Taylor knows (unless he is even more muddled than I think) that Asquith's passion for a young girl had a bearing on Churchill's dismissal as First Lord in 1915, but he gives the impression that I brought the whole matter up to titillate the reader.

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To stimulate by touching lightly; tickle.
  2. transitive verb To excite (another) pleasurably, superficially or erotically.
  3. intransitive verb To excite another, especially in a superficial, pleasurable manner: "Once you decide to titillate instead of illuminate . . . you create a climate of expectation that requires a higher and higher level of intensity” (Bill Moyers).

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Examples

  • When I think that the people of this state didn't give a damn when Floyd Calendar shot eagles and bears and turkeys-just for the hell of it, just to titillate some eastern sportsmen ... —  Centennial
  • He could titillate, analyze, and run with that for a whole column before he had to get to the probability of suicide. —  Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
  • Sigmund, before he vanished, leaked just enough to titillate people, but never got specific. —  Gravity's Rainbow
  • Surely A.J.P. Taylor knows (unless he is even more muddled than I think) that Asquith's passion for a young girl had a bearing on Churchill's dismissal as First Lord in 1915, but he gives the impression that I brought the whole matter up to titillate the reader. —  Young Churchill
  • An exercise in stringing together worst-case scenarios may be a way to titillate the imagination, but has no place in serious analysis. —  'The End of Czechoslovakia': An Exchange
 

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Titillate has been looked up 483 times, favorited twice, listed 36 times, and commented on 0 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin tītillāre, tītillāt-, to tickle.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin titillatus, past participle of titillare (later Italian titillare =Spanish titilar =Portuguese titillar =F. titiller), tickle.
 

Pronunciations
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/ˈtɪtɪleɪt/
by American Heritage

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