agitate

verb

ag·i·tate ˈa-jə-ˌtāt

agitated; agitating

transitive verb

: to excite and often trouble the mind or feelings of : disturb

My presence did not appear to agitate or irritate him as before, and he accepted my services quietly …

Charlotte Brontë

: to discuss excitedly and earnestly

: to stir up public discussion of

… trying to agitate the old question of the embezzlement of the remains of the Confederate Treasury.

Robert Penn Warren

obsolete : to give motion to

: to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action

The storm agitated the sea.

intransitive verb

: to attempt to arouse public feeling

agitated for better schools

Choose the Right Synonym for agitate

shake, agitate, rock, convulse mean to move up and down or to and fro with some violence.

shake often carries a further implication of a particular purpose.

shake well before using

agitate suggests a violent and prolonged tossing or stirring.

an ocean agitated by storms

rock suggests a swinging or swaying motion resulting from violent impact or upheaval.

the whole city was rocked by the explosion

convulse suggests a violent pulling or wrenching as of a body in a paroxysm.

spectators were convulsed with laughter

discompose, disquiet, disturb, perturb, agitate, upset, fluster mean to destroy capacity for collected thought or decisive action.

discompose implies some degree of loss of self-control or self-confidence especially through emotional stress.

discomposed by the loss of his beloved wife

disquiet suggests loss of sense of security or peace of mind.

the disquieting news of factories closing

disturb implies interference with one's mental processes caused by worry, perplexity, or interruption.

the discrepancy in accounts disturbed me

perturb implies deep disturbance of mind and emotions.

perturbed by her husband's strange behavior

agitate suggests obvious external signs of nervous or emotional excitement.

in his agitated state we could see he was unable to work

upset implies the disturbance of normal or habitual functioning by disappointment, distress, or grief.

the family's constant bickering upsets the youngest child

fluster suggests bewildered agitation.

his declaration of love completely flustered her

Example Sentences

If I talk about the problem with him it just agitates him even more. Some members of the union have been agitating for a strike. A few local residents have been agitating against a military presence. The mixture is heated and then agitated.

Recent Examples on the Web But the Sox should at least inquire, if for no other reason than to agitate the Yankees.

Chad Finn, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Nov. 2022 Still, Falbo believes that onlies agitate people’s understanding of what a family should look like.

Chiara Dello Joio, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2022 With this ingenious device, the boys had only to agitate the dust of the roadway to recover all the metal mixed with the surface dirt.

Celia Storey, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2022 Leaving her dog in the SUV, Woods allegedly went to the back of the trailer, shaking the hives to agitate the bees.

Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2022 Woods allegedly tried to agitate the bees further before she was arrested by deputies, the release said.

Rob Frehse, CNN, 19 Oct. 2022 Immerse the item in the clear water and gently agitate it with clean hands to rinse.

Taryn Mohrman, Good Housekeeping, 12 Oct. 2022 NGOs popped up to serve the North Korean community as well as, like with the FreeNK newspaper, to agitate for political reform.

Time, 28 Sep. 2022 Stay away from the area for a day or so as the treatment will agitate them.

Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agitate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English agitat "set in motion," borrowed from Latin agitātus, past participle of agitāre "to set in motion, drive before one, arouse, disturb, deal with, turn over in the mind," frequentative of agere "to drive, be in motion, do, perform" — more at agent

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of agitate was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century