agitate
verb
ag·i·tate
ˈa-jə-ˌtāt 
agitated; agitating
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
Charlotte Brontë2
a
: 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
Robert Penn Warren3
a
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
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
The man was agitated and confused for the first 10 days of his hospital stay, but symptoms started to improve as his calcium levels dropped.
—Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 30 Oct. 2024
As women began to agitate more for equal rights, however, Single Blessedness fell out of favor.
—Natalie Kinkade, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2024
In the United States, there was an immediate concern that enslaved people in the country might agitate for freedom, too.
—Roxane Gay, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2024
Mars—which has been agitating you during its two-month stay in Cancer so far—completes its opposition with Pluto on November 3, bringing things to a boil between you and a significant other.
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for agitate 
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Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 30 Oct. 2024
As women began to agitate more for equal rights, however, Single Blessedness fell out of favor.
—Natalie Kinkade, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2024
In the United States, there was an immediate concern that enslaved people in the country might agitate for freedom, too.
—Roxane Gay, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2024
Mars—which has been agitating you during its two-month stay in Cancer so far—completes its opposition with Pluto on November 3, bringing things to a boil between you and a significant other.
—Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for agitate
Dictionary Entries Near agitate
Cite this Entry
“Agitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agitate. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
agitate
verb
ag·i·tate
ˈaj-ə-ˌtāt
agitated; agitating
1
: to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action
water agitated by wind
3
: to try to stir up public feeling
agitate for equal rights
agitatedly
adverb
-ˌtāt-əd-lē
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