as in provocative
serving or likely to arouse a strong reaction
an artist who deliberately creates instigating works of art that are sure to arouse controversy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in provoking
to bring (something volatile or intense) into being
the medical breakthrough instigated a whole new field of therapy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in encouraging
to rouse to strong feeling or action
the charge that the scene in the movie had instigated teenagers to commit similar acts of vandalism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of instigating
Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 19 Sep. 2025
Bolsonaro faced five total charges, including attempting to overthrow Brazil's democratic system, participation in an armed criminal organization, and instigating violence that threatened state assets and heritage sites.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
After instigating the pile on last time, Vance did not speak at all this time.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
Urbieta’s feature debut is an instigating social drama that follows the tensions between a couple after an encounter with migrants trying to cross the river between the two countries.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 19 Sep. 2025
Bolsonaro faced five total charges, including attempting to overthrow Brazil's democratic system, participation in an armed criminal organization, and instigating violence that threatened state assets and heritage sites.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
After instigating the pile on last time, Vance did not speak at all this time.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instigating
Adjective
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Some experts underscored the elevated risk of political violence created by social media, saying its algorithms favor provocative posts that induce user engagement but exacerbate political division.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
25 Sep. 2025
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The cinematic feature directed by Jordan Hemingway sees Twigs and her friend book a room with an unlucky fellow’s credit card as the scene evolves into a provocative hotel rendezvous sans fellow.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Benefits Premium access to exclusive events, thought-provoking conversations with global leaders and more, all available on-demand.—
Forbes Membership,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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McCarthy and his cronies engineered a hysteria over left-wing ideologies and their sympathizers, encouraging tactics like loyalty oaths and provoking paranoia over a suggestion that communist spies were omnipresent in America.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That means encouraging teams to slow down, check sender info, confirm requests through other channels and report anything that feels off.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
27 Sep. 2025
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By encouraging tourists to visit Puerto Rico’s lauded heritage sites, Bad Bunny is uplifting narratives about the community and their power that recontextualize the island as a place for visitors from across the globe to celebrate.—
Cat Sposato,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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For context, geomagnetic storms are caused by fiery eruptions from the sun's surface that send charged particles zipping toward our planet.—
Tom Brown,
Space.com,
20 May 2025
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The ceremony came at a charged moment, coinciding with Columbia University canceling its graduation ceremony (and largely closing off its campus).—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
6 May 2024
Verb
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Its intended purpose is to help develop the nation's communications infrastructure and protect consumers’ equal access by promoting competition among communication companies.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
24 Sep. 2025
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What happens if social media’s data-gathering and profiling engine is turned not to selling merch or promoting political rhetoric, but to profiling enemies?—
David Karpf,
The Atlantic,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For conditions already cleared by the FDA, stimulating the vagus nerve has proven benefits.—
Clarissa Brincat,
Popular Science,
25 Sep. 2025
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Dog owners are always shopping for stimulating toys for enrichment, healthy supplements and new types of fresh food to help their pups live their best life.—
Trisha Easto,
USA Today,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The reactor core and used nuclear fuel must be cooled to prevent them overheating and triggering dangerous meltdowns like the ones that occurred in 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima plant in Japan.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Sep. 2025
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Powers at times structured the payments to avoid sending a single transaction of $10,000 or more to avoid triggering reporting obligations by the bank.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Fighting on the island had stopped, so the soldiers in the picture were not under fire, and the action of raising the flag (there is a movie of it) took all of a few seconds.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
27 Sep. 2025
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Finally, a potential government shutdown is looming, and talks have remained stalled as the deadline approaches, raising concerns about federal worker furloughs and service disruptions.—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Instigating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instigating. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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