as in to provoke
to bring something (volatile or intense) into being
couldn't stir up any interest in a Saturday morning outing to the art museum
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stir (up)
Verb
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When not in the newsroom, Munis is often out on the streets with his camera, capturing the perfect portrait or settling in to watch a thought-provoking film.—
Munis Raza,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Mar. 2026 -
Intelligent systems should provoke thinking rather than replace it.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Despite his status as a longtime Democratic donor, Ellison’s acquisition of The Free Press and his installation of founder Bari Weiss atop CBS News also raised alarm from Democrats, who have criticized some of her editorial decisions as biased against the left.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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Mahan, who recently entered the race and is supported by Silicon Valley leaders, has quickly raised millions of dollars, as have two independent expenditures committees backing his bid.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Stir (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stir%20%28up%29. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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