as in provokes
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 stirs (up)
Verb
-
The aroma of coffee brewing reliably provokes desire.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026 -
Deadline can reveal the first trailer for the radical love story revolving around Suzanne and undocumented migrant Osmane, whose relationship provokes a wave of anger and indignation all around them, forcing them to resist.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As more than 10 nations in Europe are participating in the F-35 program, this raises concerns related to Trump’s tariff-heavy diplomacy.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The increasing integration of blockchain and the finance industry raises uncomfortable questions of whether crypto is betraying its founding ideals, which saw Bitcoin as a rebellion against the big bank and government control of the financial system.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
17 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Stirs (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stirs%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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