The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - stimulate v.

1) rouse, arouse, waken, awaken, wake up, excite, incite, inspire, encourage, spur, quicken, fire, fuel, nourish, activate, whip or stir up, goad, galvanize, jolt, inspirit: What can be done to stimulate students to study history? Their teacher eventually found a way to stimulate their interest. 2) increase, encourage, prompt, provoke, quicken: This drug stimulates the circulation of the blood.