stir up

verb

stirred up; stirring up; stirs up

transitive verb

1

: to cause (someone) to feel a strong emotion and a desire to do something

The speech stirred up the crowd.

2

: to cause (something) to move up into and through the air or water

The workers stirred up a lot of dust.

3

: to cause (something, usually something bad or unpleasant) to happen

They're trying to stir up trouble.

But, of course, there's a reason politicians generally try to communicate deliberately: It helps them avoid saying things that might offend voters or stir up controversy.

—Philip Bump

I'm not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative.

—Norma Klein

… the incident stirred up a hornet's nest of protest and indignation.

—Robert T. Martinott

Examples of stir up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, the Venus-Pluto opposition on Aug. 27 simultaneously stirs up intense emotions, especially around your self-worth and personal identity. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Aug. 2025

The videos have stirred up concerns about safety in the city's urban core, which police have made an effort to address since early this summer. —Enquirer Staff, The Enquirer, 31 July 2025

That said, SpaceX’s post might stir up some debate about whether the beam-switching tech is making a difference for actual consumers. —PC Magazine, 31 July 2025

The Virgo moon may stir up conflict to set clear expectations. —Usa Today, USA Today, 28 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stir up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup