1
2
as in disturbs
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
there's no need to agitate the patient about little things
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in shakes
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
set the washing machine so it will agitate for four minutes before going into the rinse cycle
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in discusses
to talk about (an issue) usually from various points of view and for the purpose of arriving at a decision or opinion
a question which has been agitated by the legislature time and time again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of agitates
The explainer agitates the problem and leads to your solution.
—
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
As the moon agitates Venus, a promise is broken, or feelings are disregarded.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
There’s even a room equipped with soft surfaces for when clients inadvertently take a drug that agitates them.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 4 Aug. 2025
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
As the moon agitates Venus, a promise is broken, or feelings are disregarded.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
There’s even a room equipped with soft surfaces for when clients inadvertently take a drug that agitates them.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agitates
Verb
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What stirs the last phrase is an impatience with cliché.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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The Ryder Cup, too, stirs intense concentrations of emotion given the team format.—
Kevin Coulson,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Currently comprising more than 8,300 active satellites, the Starlink constellation also disturbs radio telescope observations.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The water is perfectly clear — until someone brushes the side of the cave or disturbs the soft bottom, sending fine silt particles billowing into the beam of a headlamp.—
Jennifer Walker,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Yet Leto never shakes the role’s robotic nature, even as his character strives to become more human, and his acting partners struggle to play off that in a meaningful way.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
-
These days, the Detroit area gets more love from the outside world, but the auto industry, while certainly healthier, never fully shakes nagging questions about its future, particularly now with worries about competition from China and tariff uncertainties.—
Eric D. Lawrence,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This weekend builds up to a Mercury-Mars conjunction in Scorpio which puts one of the key ingredients bell discusses into focus — and that’s trust.—
Colin Bedell,
Them.,
8 Oct. 2025
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Below, Acxiom leadership discusses the future of data, marketing and AI.—
Partner Content,
Variety,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Why ban books, Postman asked, if no one bothers to read them?—
Time,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
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What bothers her most is how the refusal seemed to change her brother’s behavior.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This whole fictional world vibrates on Robinson’s bizarre frequency, which means Ron may just be onto something.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025
-
That philosophy sits in sharp contrast to step-count culture, where success is visible, measurable, and shareable, where the end goal is often less about how your body feels and more about whether your tracker vibrates in approval.—
Marisa McMillan,
Outside,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As her husband nears one year in his new job, Hines is nearing one year with a new life even as the country debates her spouse's controversial policy agenda including his beliefs about vaccines.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
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In a third scene, the group debates what to do.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And when our American players have to control the crowd, that distracts them from playing.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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This might mean dropping a product line that’s profitable but distracts from your core business, or saying no to a good opportunity that isn’t aligned with your growth strategy.—
Minna Hu,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agitates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agitates. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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