agitation

noun

ag·​i·​ta·​tion ˌa-jə-ˈtā-shən 

plural agitations

1

: the act or an instance of agitating something : a moving back and forth or with an irregular, rapid, or violent action

In candy making, this agitation usually consists of working the chocolate back and forth on a marble surface with a large scraper.

—Rose Levy Beranbaum

The technology is based on the controlled agitation of concentrated ore particles with precisely determined amounts of acid.

—Corale L. Brierley

2

: a state or feeling of being agitated and restless

nervous agitation

Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like a vice upon my wrist in his agitation.

—Arthur Conan Doyle

She sat some time in a good deal of agitation, listening, trembling, and fearing to be sent for every moment …

—Jane Austen

: a state of excessive psychomotor activity accompanied by increased tension and irritability

… characterized by prominent agitation, irritability, and delusions …

—Oliver Freudenreich et al.

Propranolol and other beta-blockers suppress physical symptoms of agitation and anxiety by slowing down the sympathetic nervous system.

—The Harvard Mental Health Letter

3

: a persistent and sustained attempt to arouse public feeling or influence public opinion (as by appeals, discussions, or demonstrations)

political agitation

… makes it clear that this assertive attitude of black women was essential during the agitation for civil rights.

—Gloria Naylor

agitational

ˌa-jə-ˈtā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• deliriousness
• delirium
• distraction
• fever
• feverishness
• flap
• frenzy
• furor
• furore
• fury
• hysteria
• rage
• rampage
• uproar

Examples of agitation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Garland’s story doesn’t examine America’s gnawing antagonisms, or admit how they’re based in socialist, anarchist agitation. —Armond White, National Review, 12 Apr. 2024

The repetitive nature of these images might lead to agitation and restlessness. —Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024

These adjustments are the norm for many patients with dementia who are particularly prone to side effects such as agitation or drowsiness. —Maria J Silveira, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2024

Passed by Congress in 1919, the law granted women the right to vote following decades of agitation and protest. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2024

All of the anti-Asian immigration laws, especially up until 1917, were passed by Congress in an incremental and ad hoc fashion, responding to specific moments of nativist agitation or, in some cases, decades of nativist agitation. —Theodore S. Gonzalves, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024

Years of campus agitation against Israel seem to have boiled over since the attacks of Oct. 7 into visible anti-Semitism in America’s universities. —WSJ, 31 Oct. 2023

Many poison control calls often involve severe withdrawal symptoms, such as agitation, vomiting and diarrhea, because people typically consume higher doses than those prescribed in other countries, according to a 2018 CDC report. —USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024

In contrast to previous drugs, which can temporarily improve symptoms of the disease, such as memory loss and agitation, this new treatment addresses the underlying cause of the disease. —Soeren Mattke, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

agitation

noun

ag·​i·​ta·​tion ˌaj-ə-ˈtā-shən 

: a state of excessive psychomotor activity accompanied by increased tension and irritability

agitated

ˈaj-ə-ˌtāt-əd 

adjective