estimular
verbCEFR B2
What does “estimular” mean in English?
to stimulate, to incentivise
to stimulate, to incentivise (estimular + noun — promote growth or activity through deliberate action)
Example sentences
El gobierno diseñó un paquete de medidas para estimular la inversión privada en las regiones menos desarrolladas.
The government designed a package of measures to stimulate private investment in the least developed regions.
La competencia sana entre equipos puede estimular la creatividad y la innovación dentro de una empresa.
Healthy competition between teams can stimulate creativity and innovation within a company.
Los tipos de interés bajos estimularon el crédito durante años, pero también crearon riesgos a largo plazo.
Low interest rates stimulated credit for years, but also created long-term risks.
How to use it
Estimular means 'to stimulate' or 'to incentivise'. It is strongly associated with formal economic and policy discourse at B2: estimular la inversión, estimular el consumo, estimular el crecimiento. It is also used in educational and psychological contexts: estimular la creatividad, estimular el aprendizaje. Near-synonyms: impulsar (drive/boost — more forceful), fomentar (foster/promote — often institutional), incentivar (incentivise — focuses on the mechanism of incentives).
Common mistake
Estimular, impulsar, fomentar, and incentivar all mean roughly 'to promote/stimulate' but with different registers: estimular (scientific/technical/formal), fomentar (policy/social — more gradual fostering), impulsar (energetic push), incentivar (through incentives). All take a direct noun object — none takes que + subjunctive directly.