stimulation vs arousal

stimulation and arousal both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
stimulation	Yes	No	No	No
arousal	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, arousal is a hypernym of stimulation; that is, arousal is a word with a broader meaning than stimulation:

Other hypernyms of stimulation include rousing.

As nouns, stimulation and arousal are synonyms defined as:

stimulation and arousal: mutual sexual fondling prior to sexual intercourse

Other synonyms of stimulation include foreplay.

stimulation (noun)	arousal (noun)
the act of arousing an organism to action	the act of arousing
mutual sexual fondling prior to sexual intercourse	mutual sexual fondling prior to sexual intercourse
any stimulating information or event; acts to arouse action	awakening from sleep
(physiology) the effect of a stimulus (on nerves or organs etc.)	a state of heightened physiological activity