Stimulus

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ˈstɪm.jÉ™.lÉ™s/

Origin

From Latin stimulus ("goad, prick")

Full definition of stimulus

Noun

1. Anything that may have an impact or influence on a system.an economic stimulus
• 2012, November 7, Matt Bai, Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, 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.
2. (physiology) Something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response.
3. (psychology) Anything effectively impinging upon any of the sensory apparatuses of a living organism, including physical phenomena both internal and external to the body.
4. Anything that induces a person to take action.

Synonyms

• (anything that may have an impact or influence) influence
• (anything that induces a person to take action) impetus, impulse, spur