agitated

adjective

ag·​i·​tat·​ed ˈa-jə-ˌtā-təd How to pronounce agitated (audio)
: troubled in mind : disturbed and upset
When Caswall asked him to describe what he had seen …, he got very agitatedBram Stoker
was so agitated she could hardly speak
agitatedly adverb
pacing back and forth agitatedly

Examples of agitated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The argument began when two groups of people grew agitated over the belief that people in the other group were staring at them, according to affidavits from police. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 21 Feb. 2024 The agitated husband had entered a school in the scenario and was waiting in the teacher’s classroom to confront him with a baseball bat. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023 In another stunning moment in the film (available on HBO Max, Prime Video and Apple TV Plus), Navalny walks away from the camera, visibly agitated by a line of questioning from Roher. Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2024 Willis was notably agitated and at points raised her voice during a raucous several hours of testimony. Fox News Staff, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2024 The defendants that have been charged were often agitated about vote counting in swing states such as Arizona or Georgia or Michigan, where Biden won but where Trump falsely claimed the election was rigged or stolen. Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2024 The gentleman was becoming more and more agitated as the moments passed, and was not giving up the mic. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 22 Jan. 2024 An agitated Johnson was caught on camera yelling at a group, according to a video widely circulated on social media. Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024 Apparently this bird would spend a good part of the day sitting on the window ledge giving a loud cackling call typical of an agitated Cooper’s hawk. Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'agitated.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of agitate

First Known Use

1684, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of agitated was in 1684

Dictionary Entries Near agitated

Cite this Entry

“Agitated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agitated. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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