Wiktionary

agitate

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English, from Latin agitatus, past participle of agitare (“to put in motion”), from agere (“to move”). Compare with French agiter. See act, agent.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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agitate (third-person singular simple present agitates, present participle agitating, simple past and past participle agitated)

  1. (transitive) To disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person). [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: disturb, unsettle; see also Thesaurus:upset
    Antonyms: appease, calm, quieten
    He was greatly agitated by the news.
  2. (transitive) To cause to move with a violent, irregular action; to shake. [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: move, muddle, roil, shake
    to agitate water in a vessel
    The wind agitates the sea.
    • 1830, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford:
      It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.
  3. To participate in political agitation (sense 3).
    • 1981 August 1, Mitzel, “NAMBLA Says National Crackdown Starting”, in Gay Community News, page 3:
      NAMBLA is working to build a coalition of gay, lesbian, progressive and civil liberties groups to agitate against the increasing state attacks on gay men who associate with boys.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To set in motion; to actuate. [16th–18th c.]
    Synonyms: activate, animate, excite, trigger, rouse, set off
  5. (transitive, now rare) To discuss or debate. [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: discuss, debate, canvass
  6. (transitive, now rare) To mull over, or think deeply about; to consider, to devise. [from 17th c.]
    Synonyms: revolve, ruminate; see also Thesaurus:ponder
    Politicians agitate desperate designs.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading

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Esperanto

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Pronunciation

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Adverb

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agitate

  1. present adverbial passive participle of agiti

Ido

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Verb

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agitate

  1. adverbial present passive participle of agitar

Italian

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Adjective

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agitate f

  1. feminine plural of agitato

Anagrams

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Latin

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Verb

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agitāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of agitō

Scots

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Etymology

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From Middle English, from Latin agitatus. Cognate with English agitate.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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agitate (third-person singular simple present agitates, present participle agitatin, simple past agitatit, past participle agitate)

  1. to agitate

References

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  • Eagle, Andy, editor (2024), “agitate”, in The Online Scots Dictionary‎[2]

Spanish

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Verb

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agitate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of agitar combined with te
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