agitate

verb

ag·​i·​tate ˈa-jə-ˌtāt 

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

Synonyms

• churn
• stir
• swirl
• wash
• whirl

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

As soon as Musk and Trump began bashing one another in earnest on Thursday, the GOP base immediately started agitating in three big directions. —Philip Elliott, Time, 6 June 2025

The kid is flunking out of private school, has spearheaded a dozen or more extracurricular clubs, agitates to have Latin added to the curriculum, and directs a remarkably detailed stage production of Serpico. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025

Dragon boat racing was said to begin after villagers agitated the water and paddled to try to save him or prevent his body from being eaten by fish, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. —Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 30 May 2025

While no person was seriously injured, the loud noise and ensuing pandemonium agitated the occupants of the nearby alligator farm. —Jeremy Drouin, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for agitate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

Kids Definition

agitate

verb

ag·​i·​tate ˈaj-ə-ˌtāt 

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

ˌaj-ə-ˈtā-shən 

noun