as in provoking
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stirring (up)
Verb
-
Those forces may give the president more leverage in his negotiations, but also risk fueling Tehran's resentment and provoking a harsher response, analysts say.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
26 Mar. 2026 -
Women and girls are asked to imagine themselves as a river, provoking powerful reflection on the culture of gender in post-Soviet Asia.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But the arc — first raising expectations for a big reveal, then declaring there was nothing to see, and ultimately a forced, flawed document dump — was a stubbornly problematic storyline that ran through her time as attorney general.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Despite recent rain and snow in Northern California, state water officials say the Sierra snowpack remains near historic lows, raising concerns about water availability during the hot summer months.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Several of her Instagram posts also included hashtags promoting Swift’s album.—
Joe Kottke,
NBC news,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Chestnut said in an Instagram story, promoting a clip from the Sunday, March 29, episode, in which Watson is reunited with Sherlock.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Stirring (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stirring%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
