incitement

noun

Definition of incitementnext
1
as in excitement
something that arouses a strong response from another the insulting remark was all the incitement that was needed for a fight to break out

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in incentive
something that arouses action or activity the approaching deadline was certainly an incitement to get going on the assignment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incitement An ultranationalist politician, Ben-Gvir had been arrested multiple times for incitement and supporting terrorism. — Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 He is also suspected of attempting incitement to commit two murders, Dutch authorities said. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 This Friday, the leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance who organized those vigils — Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho — will be sentenced for incitement to subversion. — Rowena He, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2026 Thus, agency as a concept gained a greater liveliness, from passive effect to active incitement. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026 He was arrested in Lebanon in July 2025 and sentenced to three months in prison for incitement to religious and sectarian conflict. — Adam England, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026 He was arrested in Lebanon last year and sentenced by a military court to three months’ imprisonment for offenses including incitement to religious and sectarian conflict. — Geir Moulson, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026 Depending on the circumstances, charges could include incitement to riot, vandalism, theft, assault, reckless driving, unlawful assembly, conspiracy and other offenses, police said. — Sydney Barragan, Oc Register, 9 July 2026 Much of that violence can be blamed on anti-Jewish incitement that draws on the deepest foundations of anti-Jewish myth. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incitement
  1. excitement
  2. incentive
  3. encouragement
  4. impetus
  5. stimulus
  6. motivation
  7. stimulation
Noun
  • Lulingu, a Grauer’s gorilla who was reintroduced to Virunga National Park in eastern Congo, is raising a baby after a successful birth, bringing excitement for the conservationists working there.
    — Elodie Toto, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Michael Platt, a professor of marketing, psychology and neuroscience at the Wharton School, says the answer may lie in how the brain responds to risk, excitement and the promise of a big win.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of excitement
Noun
  • New discoveries matter only if companies have the incentive and capital to bring them to market.
    — Rick Lazio, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Some may question whether these procedures are used too often, whether the evidence supporting them is strong enough, or whether financial incentives influence their use.
    — Antje M. Barreveld, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of incentive
Noun
  • But Smith also had encouragement for Hurts, whom Lynn and the Eagles said should be expected to make a full recovery with treatment from blood thinners that precludes contact activities for the next few months.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Kid Rock's support eventually extended beyond words of encouragement.
    — Ashley Hume , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of encouragement
Noun
  • The original impetus for the film, to be honest, was to look at an incredible life story over a long German period.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Another impetus for the merger plans might be the sales struggles Tesla has been experiencing and the vast technological challenges from robotaxi competitors such as Waymo.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of impetus
Noun
  • China’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter thanks to the country’s powerful export machine, with domestic consumption still lagging and the authorities showing little interest in fiscal stimulus.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Visual stimuli produced more activity in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of stimulus
Noun
  • In many instances, a nature lead might find that their underlying motivation is at odds with their employer’s, causing friction and making their — suddenly outsized — remit difficult to fulfil.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 22 Oct. 2026
  • But Spoelstra insisted that wasn’t a source of motivation to begin this season against Ball’s new team.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of motivation
Noun
  • The Holistic Touch treatment uses Ayurvedic techniques to rebalance the body’s energy, including healing poultices and marma-point stimulation.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Tom describes himself as uniquely susceptible to this kind of stimulation, something that Kenny, the Mount Sinai neuroscientist, says may have some credence.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of stimulation

Browse Nearby Words

incited
incitement
incitements
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Incitement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incitement. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All