1
as in provoked
to bring (something volatile or intense) into being
the rock band's failure to show up incited a riot, as the crowd had waited for hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in encouraged
to rouse to strong feeling or action
the demagogue's fiery rant incited the crowd to riot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incited
The judging controversy, however, incited a firestorm that was just getting started.
—
Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
There is no evidence whatsoever that Pretti obstructed federal law enforcement or incited violence on Saturday.
—Karen Cortes, NBC news, 26 Jan. 2026
After the George Floyd murder and response, something was incited.
—Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
Transgender comedian Stacy Cay incited backlash on social media Friday after making a joke about former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb's brain injury.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 Dec. 2025
The country had reelected Shepherd’s feral heir, but this one incited an insurrection and called it patriotism.
—Alexis Coe, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 2025
Bolduc’s hit on Senators star defenceman Jake Sanderson just before the nine-minute mark of the first period sent Sanderson into the Canadiens’ bench and incited Sens tough guy Kurtis MacDermid to go after him, handing the Canadiens a power play.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Halloween was just around the corner, and the Tylenol murders incited panic among parents who feared trick-or-treat candy could be laced with poison or razors.
—Mark Dent, HubSpot, 24 Oct. 2025
Earlier this year, the Parenthood alum incited anger for sharing a NSFW post of Bell doing nude yoga to celebrate the news of her Nobody Wants This Emmy nomination.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
There is no evidence whatsoever that Pretti obstructed federal law enforcement or incited violence on Saturday.
—Karen Cortes, NBC news, 26 Jan. 2026
After the George Floyd murder and response, something was incited.
—Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
Transgender comedian Stacy Cay incited backlash on social media Friday after making a joke about former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb's brain injury.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 Dec. 2025
The country had reelected Shepherd’s feral heir, but this one incited an insurrection and called it patriotism.
—Alexis Coe, Rolling Stone, 16 Nov. 2025
Bolduc’s hit on Senators star defenceman Jake Sanderson just before the nine-minute mark of the first period sent Sanderson into the Canadiens’ bench and incited Sens tough guy Kurtis MacDermid to go after him, handing the Canadiens a power play.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Halloween was just around the corner, and the Tylenol murders incited panic among parents who feared trick-or-treat candy could be laced with poison or razors.
—Mark Dent, HubSpot, 24 Oct. 2025
Earlier this year, the Parenthood alum incited anger for sharing a NSFW post of Bell doing nude yoga to celebrate the news of her Nobody Wants This Emmy nomination.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incited
Verb
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Here are some of the Republicans who have provoked the President’s ire.—
Chantelle Lee,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
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The statement doesn’t even mention Renee Good and Alex Pretti, whose killing finally provoked the Chamber’s members to speak out.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But Flint encouraged people to attend the commissioners’ court meeting and speak against the Comanche Circle proposal.—
Elizabeth Campbell,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Jan. 2026
-
All retailers are being encouraged to honor customer claims.—
Austen Erblat,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
These channels are tuned to trigger a voltage spike and tell the trap to close only if stimulated multiple times in rapid succession.—
Elise Cutts,
Quanta Magazine,
12 Jan. 2026
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Many contests maintain that the frogs can be stimulated humanely to jump, such as someone blowing on them or clapping their hands behind them.—
Laura Schulte,
jsonline.com,
26 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incited.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incited. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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