A juicy steak may titillate your taste buds, or sexy images in a foreign film may titillate your desire. Titillate means to excite someone's imagination, especially in a sexual way.
Titillate comes from a Latin verb that means "tickle," and that's what something that titillates does to the imagination. Today's media bombard you with images made to titillate, from video game heroines with extreme physiques to casual nudity on prime-time TV. But it doesn't have to be sex to titillate. A display of fabulous pastries in a bakery window can titillate your senses, or whispered rumors about your high school principal's past life as a rodeo queen may titillate your curiosity.
