Instigate

//ˈɪnstəɡeɪt// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To bring about by urging or encouraging. transitive

    "to instigate a riot"

  2. 2
    serve as the inciting cause of wordnet
  3. 3
    To goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions. transitive

    "to instigate someone to a crime"

  4. 4
    provoke or stir up wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
inciteinciteprovokeaberrationabetactivate

Example

More examples

"Tom's inability to control his temper will likely instigate one international crisis after another."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnstīgātus, perfect passive participle of īnstīgō (“to instigate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.