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
Usa Today, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
Green, always one to instigate, is currently public enemy No. 1 in Houston as the Golden State Warriors are facing the Rockets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Though the two had weathered their share of drama—including their own cheating scandal and a drunken sunglasses-stealing incident, both of which were instigated by Taylor—things seemed on the upswing by the time the couple left the show in 2020.
—Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 15 Apr. 2025
Crystal Bridges and the University of Arkansas have been steadily building world-class architecture, joined by a collection of visionary buildings and landscapes instigated by Walton Family Foundation’s Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program, in Bentonville.
—Sam Lubell, New York Times, 11 Apr. 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 23 May. 2025.
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