agitate
verb
ag·i·tate
| \ ˈa-jə-ˌtāt
\
\
agitated;
agitating
Definition of agitate
1
: 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
2a
: to discuss excitedly and earnestly
b
: 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
3a
obsolete
: to give motion to
b
: to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action
The storm agitated the sea.
: to attempt to arouse public feeling
agitated for better schools
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Examples of agitate in a Sentence
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.
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Recent Examples on the Web
The husband-and-wife team of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, his former collaborator, have marshaled the support of the White House, and president Donald Trump took to Twitter yesterday (July 19) to agitate on Rocky’s behalf. — Oliver Staley, Quartz, "A$AP Rocky shows it pays to have well-connected friends," 20 July 2019 The video focuses on Elliott becoming agitated, apparently because he was denied access to a restricted area. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Could Roger Goodell Change Mind in Disciplining Ezekiel Elliott After Pressed Charges?," 16 July 2019 The movement isn’t big enough yet to make voting with your wallet an effective tactic in supporting the workers agitating for change. — Russell Brandom, The Verge, "Should you boycott Amazon Prime Day?," 14 July 2019 Britain sent no relief, in part, perhaps, because of Winston Churchill’s active dislike of Indians agitating for independence. — The Economist, "The South Asian monsoon, past, present and future," 27 June 2019 With the Fourth of July weekend fast approaching and the first month of summer nearly over, agents, managers and artists are growing increasingly agitated with Lang's behavior and insistence on dragging things out. — Dave Brooks, Billboard, "Woodstock 50 Organizers Haven't Contacted Artists to Discuss New Site (or Anything Else)," 26 June 2019 Fans inside Beer Works grew visibly agitated as the Celtics fell more and more behind in the fourth quarter. — J.d. Capelouto, BostonGlobe.com, "Downtrodden fans mourn tough end to surprisingly strong Celtics season," 28 May 2018 In France, Yellow Vest protesters are agitating for more benefits paid for by the wealthy, and even the government of President Emmanuel Macron warns that capitalism fuels inequality and is ineffective at delivering goals in the public interest. — Sahil Kapur, Fortune, "'Socialism' Is a Governing Philosophy. It's Also an Offhand Insult," 11 June 2019 Members of parliament are also agitating to have an up-or-down vote on May’s final Brexit scheme. — William Booth And James Mcauley, Washington Post, "Europeans haven’t given up hope that Britain will change its mind on Brexit," 12 June 2018These 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.
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More Definitions for agitate
agitate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of agitate
: to disturb, excite, or anger (someone)
: to try to get people to support or oppose something
technical
: to move or stir up (a liquid)
See the full definition for agitate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
agitate
verb
ag·i·tate
| \ ˈa-jə-ˌtāt
\
\
agitated;
agitating
Kids Definition of agitate
1
: to move or stir up
The water was agitated by wind.
2
: disturb, excite, or anger
She was agitated by the bad news.
3
: to try to stir up public feeling
agitate for change
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