stirring
Americanadjective
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rousing, exciting, or thrilling.
a stirring speech.
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moving, active, bustling, or lively.
a stirring business.
noun
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stirrings
plural
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a mental impulse, sensation, or feeling.
stirrings of hope.
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a small movement.
the best thing she could do was to pretend that her husband's nocturnal stirrings didn't wake her
adjective
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exciting the emotions; stimulating
-
active, lively, or busy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of stirring
before 900; Middle English stiringe, Old English styriende. See stir 1, -ing 2
Explanation
Something that's stirring is gripping or moving—it inspires some kind of powerful emotion, like Martin Luther King, Jr.'s stirring "I Have a Dream" speech. When people sing stirring songs at church, during a protest march, or around the piano at home, they might make you cry, while a stirring public speaker often makes the crowd feel enthusiastic and roused to action. In the 15th century, this adjective had a much more literal meaning: "in active motion, or animated." The verb stir, "move, rouse, or agitate," shares a root with storm.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But it wasn’t until June, when I reported on how the technology is stirring fights in cities around the U.S., that I learned more about the reach and tactics of opposition groups like DeFlock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
“Between Panic and Paradise,” Eileen Cowin’s penetrating retrospective at LACMA, begins in the present, with large, recent color photographs and her newest work, a stirring video.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
The five-piece Seattle band, who play "aggressive yet emotionally stirring heavy metal" according to AllMusic, external, released their 12th album in September 2025 and have 350,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Cook the carrots: Cook the carrot, butter, brown sugar, zest and salt over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and jammy.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Grandma already had a pot of milk on the woodstove, and now she was stirring in the chocolate.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
The Flock uprising, though, is the stirrings of public understanding that none of this inevitable — and we have the right to fight back.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
And everywhere the ambient stirrings of the 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen mega-audio with integrated noise canceling, featuring a “Quiet mode” that allows adults in front to talk without waking the kids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
The first real stirrings of a proper red army in the land of the green and the gold.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
Being around family — especially the teens — gave Donaldson the initial stirrings for the script she would write.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2024
I could not identify individuals, only stirrings of color.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
