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Agitate

//ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt// verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person). transitive

    "He was greatly agitated by the news."

  2. 2
    change the arrangement or position of wordnet
  3. 3
    To cause to move with a violent, irregular action; to shake. transitive

    "to agitate water in a vessel"

  4. 4
    cause to be agitated, excited, or roused wordnet
  5. 5
    To participate in political agitation (sense 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."

Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    move or cause to move back and forth wordnet
  2. 7
    To set in motion; to actuate. obsolete, transitive
  3. 8
    move very slightly wordnet
  4. 9
    To discuss or debate. archaic, transitive

    "Your speech at the time a bill for the regency was agitated now lies before me."

  5. 10
    try to stir up public opinion wordnet
  6. 11
    To mull over, or think deeply about; to consider, to devise. archaic, transitive

    "Politicians agitate desperate designs."

  7. 12
    exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for wordnet

Etymology

From Middle English agitat(e) (“set in motion”), borrowed from Latin agitātus, perfect passive participle of agitō (“to put in motion”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of agō (“to drive, move, push”), see -tō. Cognate with French agiter. See also act and agent.

See also for "agitate"

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