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I would appreciate it if someone could let me know what is the common verb to stimulating appetite when someone or something makes you to eat because they are very pleasant, look delicious and appetizing etc.

The only verb that comes to mind is "appetize", but I was wondering if it is an obsolete word or this is a mistakenly written form of the word? When I write it down in a MS-Word file, it is marked as a mistake! Also I was wondering if there is a better way to imply this message specially in AmE.

Example:

  • He ate so eagerly and pleasantly that appetized me.
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  • Yes because most of the online dictionaries is not showing an entry for the word appetize. One of the source I found indicated that it is used in British English. Well it is the same source you linked to.
    – Dhanishtha Ghosh
    Oct 18, 2020 at 14:43
  • Well, do you know any more common word / idiom / expression which could be understood by all native speakers @DhanishthaGhosh?
    – A-friend
    Oct 18, 2020 at 14:46
  • Sorry, but no. I do not know any other word. I am not a native speaker also. But I would appreciate if you edited your already existing previous question and kindly wait till someone answers.
    – Dhanishtha Ghosh
    Oct 18, 2020 at 14:48
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    It wouldn't apply to looking at another person eating, but you can say of appetizing food that "it makes my mouth water". There is an adjective "mouth-watering".
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Oct 19, 2020 at 0:39

1 Answer 1

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The verb appetise is defined by the full OED as To give (a person) appetite, to cause relish for food. It's flagged up by them as "rare", which in practice means it's never used (except as the adjectival derived form appetising).

Assuming I've understood OP's intended meaning, his example could be idiomatically rephrased as...

He ate so eagerly and pleasantly that it gave me an appetite [too]

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