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 disturb the quiet of : agitate

a bear stirring up the bees

4

: 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

Your emotional depths get stirred up today. —Usa Today, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025

Naturally, this reunion stirs up a bubbling pot of unresolved tensions, including yet another clash between Santana (the late Naya Rivera) and Quinn (Dianna Agron). —Shay Spence, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025

But the record levels of tourism have also taken a toll on the public, which has complained about rising costs-of-living and misbehavior by foreigners, and stirred up xenophobic sentiments. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 24 Nov. 2025

Sometimes, creators will purposefully place a shocking item in the frame to stir up engagement. —Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 23 Nov. 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