See Also: stimulus(dictionary)
stimulus(dictionary)
stimulus(medicine)
Stimulus(money)
stimulus threshold(medicine)
stimulus word(medicine)
subliminal stimulus(medicine)
subthreshold stimulus(medicine)
supramaximal stimulus(medicine)
threshold stimulus(medicine)

stimulus (iou)



stimulus noun. . L17.
[Latin = goad, spur, incentive, prob. from base also of stilus STYLUS.]
A thing that provokes, increases, or quickens bodily activity; esp. (Biology) a material agency that evokes a specific reaction in an organ or tissue. L17.
W. S. Hall Forms of energy act as stimuli for..cells.
b. gen. An agency or influence that rouses or spurs something or someone to action or quickens an activity or process; a spur, an incentive. (Foll. by to an action etc.) L18.
G. Battiscombe In bad need of mental stimulus. M. Meyer This reverse was the stimulus that provoked him to write his first play. New York Review of Books War..was the stimulus to ambitious programmes of reform.
c. Chiefly Psychology. Any change or event which excites a nerve impulse and gives rise to a physical reaction or response. L19.
The effect or property of producing such a reaction; stimulation; an instance of this. L17.
H. Keller The child..learns of himself, provided he is supplied with sufficient outward stimulus. W. S. Churchill Under the stimulus of the enemy's fire..our pace increased. H. Carpenter Renowned..for his..stimulus to the young.
Botany & Zoology. A sting, a stinging hair. rare (only in Dicts. & Glossaries). M18.
Comb.: stimulus generalization Psychology the phenomenon of a response elicited by one stimulus being also elicited by other stimuli associated with but not identical to the original.