1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stirs (up)
  1. provokes
  2. raises
Verb
  • In deceptively plain diction, the hurdle of one love relationship provokes an exploration of desire and belonging.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of provokes
Verb
  • Sunday’s game will also mark the annual Pink Day ODI, which raises money for cancer research and treatment.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
  • For critics inside the church, however, that raises a difficult question about the kind of assistance priests should offer soldiers.
    — CNN Staff, CNN Money, 26 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.

Browse Nearby Words

stirs
stirs (up)
stir (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stirs (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stirs%20%28up%29. Accessed 30 Sep. 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 epistemic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
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
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All