instigate
verb
Did you know?
It's time to investigate the true meaning of instigate. Instigate is often used as a synonym of incite (as in "siblings instigating a fight"), but the two words differ slightly in their overall usage. Incite usually stresses an act of stirring something up that one did not necessarily initiate ("the court's decision incited riots"), while instigate implies responsibility for initiating or encouraging someone else's action, and usually suggests dubious or underhanded intent ("he was charged with instigating a conspiracy"). Coming from a form of the Latin verb instigare ("to urge on or provoke"), instigate stepped into English in the 1500s, roughly a century after incite.
Examples of instigate in a Sentence
Made By History, Time, 28 Apr. 2025
The administration has also drawn the ire of critics opposed to his migrant deportations and the wide-ranging cuts across federal agencies instigated by Elon Musk at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
Ten years ago, Mark Begich, then a Democratic senator from Alaska, tried, unsuccessfully, to instigate a revolt against Reid’s tree-filling.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Mars conflicting with Chiron can instigate overreach.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instigate
Cite this Entry
“Instigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/instigate. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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