The Vocalibrate dictionary

whet

/wɛt/verb

to sharpen or stir up a desire or interest

The smell from the kitchen whetted our appetites.

Near in meaning
stimulatesharpenarousestir
In the family
whetswhettedwhettingwhetstone

More words worth knowing

eschewto deliberately avoid or keep away frompiqueto stir up interest or curiositypareto reduce something by cutting away partsabateto become less strong or intenserendto tear something apart violentlymireto trap in a difficult situation that is hard to escape