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
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
McCabe just got the five minutes for fighting, while Tuch got an extra two minutes for instigating the fight and a 10-minute misconduct.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
One key scene between the two men involves a piece of music, instigated by Strong.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2025
Fogel is accused of instigating another chase involving Boerne police on May 30, and speeding by an officer at the scene of a crash, according to the release.
—Mitchell Willetts, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 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 29 Oct. 2025.
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