instigative

adjective

Definition of instigativenext
as in provocative
serving or likely to arouse a strong reaction she is no stranger to controversy, having penned several instigative and inflammatory books attacking liberals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for instigative
  1. provocative
  2. charged
Adjective
  • Shah has previously made headlines for his fiercely nationalist and provocative posture towards both countries.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Kirk launched Turning Point USA in 2012 and made provocative statements about race, gender and politics.
    — Corey Williams, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of provocative
Adjective
  • The result is an urgent, propulsive song with a raw spirit and some of Pop’s most super-charged writing with deceptively simple lyrics about love and war, dripping with desperation.
    — Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
  • What Happens Next Greene is likely to continue stoking controversy by breaking with her party, as conversations around immigration remain charged and divisive.
    — Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Definition of charged
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.

Browse Nearby Words

instigations
instigative
instigator
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Instigative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instigative. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All