stir up

verb

stirred up; stirring up; stirs up

transitive verb

1

: to cause (someone) to feel a strong emotion and a desire to do something

The speech stirred up the crowd.

2

: to cause (something) to move up into and through the air or water

The workers stirred up a lot of dust.

3

: to cause (something, usually something bad or unpleasant) to happen

They're trying to stir up trouble.

But, of course, there's a reason politicians generally try to communicate deliberately: It helps them avoid saying things that might offend voters or stir up controversy.

—Philip Bump

I'm not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative.

—Norma Klein

… the incident stirred up a hornet's nest of protest and indignation.

—Robert T. Martinott

Examples of stir up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Twenty-two Senate Republicans said Democrats were trying to stir up commotion over a non-existent threat in a joint statement on Tuesday. —Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 5 June 2024

Democratic activists said the immigration measure could backfire by stirring up a wave of opposition from Latino voters and suburban moderates worried about the damage to immigrant families and Arizona’s reputation and economy. —Jack Healy, New York Times, 4 June 2024

Everything seems to be happening at once as Mars jogs into your chatty 3rd house, stirring up all sorts of activities. —Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2024

Another speculation is that a giant impactor, one that formidably matched Jupiter in size and heft, fell into Jupiter and stirred up the planet’s insides, blurring out the core-mantle boundary. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1