stirs (up)

verb

present tense third-person singular of stir (up)
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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stirs (up)
  1. provokes
  2. raises
Verb
  • The development provokes a leadership shake-up on both committees, prompting speculation on who will fill the spots when the next Congress opens in January.
    — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The rooms were part of Kusama’s ongoing exploration of self-obliteration and her career-long ambition to create work that provokes a keen awareness of both one’s individual insignificance and place in the wider cosmic system.
    — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of provokes
Verb
  • An Indian institution that’s built its operations around a foreign foundation model has no real recourse if that vendor raises prices, withdraws the model, hits new export restrictions or gets caught in a geopolitical dispute over chip access.
    — Sajal Singh, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Israel, like many countries, raises money by selling bonds to investors, who then receive repayments with interest after a specified time period.
    — Sharon Udasin, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of raises
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.

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stir (up)
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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 13 Sep. 2026.

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