agitate

verb

ag·i·tate | \ ˈa-jə-ˌtāt

agitated; agitating

Definition of agitate

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

2a : 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

3a 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

Other Words from agitate Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about agitate

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Synonyms for agitate

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

Recently, slave descendants have begun agitating for equality, staging protests and pressuring politicians. — Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, The New Yorker, "The Descendants of Slaves in Nigeria Fight for Equality," 11 July 2019 Experts say yarn bombing is part of a long tradition in which women use textile arts to agitate, excite or inspire. — Washington Post, "‘Yarn Bombers’ use craft to make a statement," 18 June 2019 Endeavor’s action is expected by some observers to agitate the agency landscape, possibly precipitating a domino effect of mergers, acquisitions and consolidations as rival representation firms look to shore up their competitive edge. — Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, "UTA-Paradigm Deal Chatter Heats Up as Agencies Feel Urge to Merge," 7 June 2019 In agitating against closer ties, Hong Kongers made use of freedoms that are denied in mainland China. — A.k., The Economist, "What is China’s “one country, two systems” policy?," 30 June 2019 Strategies include agitating for governance changes among the funds such as converting them to open-ended portfolios or selling the underlying assets and returning money to shareholders. — Gretchen Morgenson, WSJ, "Saba Can Nominate Slate to BlackRock Fund Boards, Delaware Court Says," 28 June 2019 Now, as the consequences of light pollution tiptoe from the shadows and into the spotlight, cities, regulatory agencies, and conservation groups are agitating for solutions. — Babak Tafreshi, National Geographic, "Our nights are getting brighter, and Earth is paying the price," 3 Apr. 2019 The Johnson County Commission also is agitating for faster action. — Lynn Horsley, kansascity, "Next big development in JoCo? Officials say, speed up Sunflower ammo plant cleanup | The Kansas City Star," 15 May 2018 The south has long been readier than the north to agitate against the strictures of caste. — The Economist, "Why India’s south confounds the otherwise all-conquering Narendra Modi," 21 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agitate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.