stimulated

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of stimulate.

   Lower interest rates stimulated business investment across the region.

   A surge in advertising had stimulated demand beyond what the factory could supply.

   Note

   The regular -ed form does double duty: one spelling serves the simple past (rates stimulated investment) and the participle. The participle follows have in perfect tenses and be in the passive. Both meanings of stimulate carry over. One is the push toward action seen in economics and everyday life. The other is the physiological use, in which an organism is aroused to functional activity.

2. 2
   adjective

   Roused into activity, interest, or alertness; in a heightened or excited state.

   After the lively debate, the students left feeling intellectually stimulated.

   He always feels stimulated by a room full of new ideas.

   Similarenergized, invigorated, excited, inspired, engaged

   Oppositebored, uninspired, listless

   Note

   Here the participle has settled into a true adjective, and its comparison shows it: one lecture can leave a listener more stimulated than another, and the most stimulated students ask the questions. Gradability is the quickest test. If more or most fits naturally, the word is describing a state. If the sentence reports something that roused someone, it is the verb form.

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