agitate

verb

ag·​i·​tate ˈa-jə-ˌtāt How to pronounce agitate (audio)
agitated; agitating

transitive verb

1
: to excite and often trouble the mind or feelings of : disturb
My presence did not appear to agitate or irritate him as before, and he accepted my services quietly …Charlotte Brontë
2
a
: to discuss excitedly and earnestly
b
: to stir up public discussion of
… trying to agitate the old question of the embezzlement of the remains of the Confederate Treasury.Robert Penn Warren
3
a
obsolete : to give motion to
b
: to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action
The storm agitated the sea.

intransitive verb

: to attempt to arouse public feeling
agitated for better schools
Choose the Right Synonym for agitate

shake, agitate, rock, convulse mean to move up and down or to and fro with some violence.

shake often carries a further implication of a particular purpose.

shake well before using

agitate suggests a violent and prolonged tossing or stirring.

an ocean agitated by storms

rock suggests a swinging or swaying motion resulting from violent impact or upheaval.

the whole city was rocked by the explosion

convulse suggests a violent pulling or wrenching as of a body in a paroxysm.

spectators were convulsed with laughter

discompose, disquiet, disturb, perturb, agitate, upset, fluster mean to destroy capacity for collected thought or decisive action.

discompose implies some degree of loss of self-control or self-confidence especially through emotional stress.

discomposed by the loss of his beloved wife

disquiet suggests loss of sense of security or peace of mind.

the disquieting news of factories closing

disturb implies interference with one's mental processes caused by worry, perplexity, or interruption.

the discrepancy in accounts disturbed me

perturb implies deep disturbance of mind and emotions.

perturbed by her husband's strange behavior

agitate suggests obvious external signs of nervous or emotional excitement.

in his agitated state we could see he was unable to work

upset implies the disturbance of normal or habitual functioning by disappointment, distress, or grief.

the family's constant bickering upsets the youngest child

fluster suggests bewildered agitation.

his declaration of love completely flustered her

Examples of agitate in a Sentence

If I talk about the problem with him it just agitates him even more. Some members of the union have been agitating for a strike. A few local residents have been agitating against a military presence. The mixture is heated and then agitated.
Recent Examples on the Web The three became friends, sharing studios, painting together, agitating for change — and closely watching Manet. Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 The asset management firms pointed to their independence in withdrawing from C100+, noting that the group was previously focused on agitating for clearer disclosure and not seeking specific action from. Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024 Think of agitating a snow globe to help others understand how chaotic a process of rebuilding can look. Sherzod Odilov, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Last fall, Peltz fired off his latest proxy salvo — this time agitating for multiple board seats, one for himself and another for Jay Rasulo, a former Disney chief financial officer. Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 In response to the most recent killings of American troops, Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas have been among those agitating for war in Iran. The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 30 Jan. 2024 Even from detention, Navalny had continued to agitate against Putin’s government. Anna Chernova, CNN, 16 Feb. 2024 The Author’s Guild, for example, is currently agitating for collective licensing agreements to ensure that writers are paid when their work is used as training data for AI companies. Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 21 Dec. 2023 The city also is looking at installing a 6- to 8-foot-tall fence along the river to address complaints that the passing bikers will agitate the dogs. Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'agitate.' 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

Middle English agitat "set in motion," borrowed from Latin agitātus, past participle of agitāre "to set in motion, drive before one, arouse, disturb, deal with, turn over in the mind," frequentative of agere "to drive, be in motion, do, perform" — more at agent

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of agitate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near agitate

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

agitate

verb
ag·​i·​tate ˈaj-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce agitate (audio)
agitated; agitating
1
: to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action
water agitated by wind
2
: to stir up : excite, disturb
agitated by bad news
3
: to try to stir up public feeling
agitate for equal rights
agitatedly
-ˌtāt-əd-lē
adverb
agitation noun

More from Merriam-Webster on agitate

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