agitate
Americanverb (used with object)
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agitates,
present (3rd person singular)
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agitated,
past participle, past
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agitating
present participle
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to move or force into violent, irregular action.
The hurricane winds agitated the sea.
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to shake or move briskly.
The machine agitated the mixture.
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to move to and fro; impart regular motion to.
- Synonyms:
- wave
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to disturb or excite emotionally; arouse; perturb.
a crowd agitated to a frenzy by impassioned oratory; a man agitated by disquieting news.
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to call attention to by speech or writing; discuss; debate.
to agitate the question.
- Synonyms:
- dispute
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to consider on all sides; revolve in the mind; plan.
verb (used without object)
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agitates,
present (3rd person singular)
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agitated,
past participle, past
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agitating
present participle
verb
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(tr) to excite, disturb, or trouble (a person, the mind, or feelings); worry
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(tr) to cause to move vigorously; shake, stir, or disturb
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(intr; often foll by for or against) to attempt to stir up public opinion for or against something
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(tr) to discuss or debate in order to draw attention to or gain support for (a cause, etc)
to agitate a political cause
Usage
What does agitate mean? To agitate someone is to make them feel anxious, bothered, or worried. Someone who feels this way can be described as agitated. Things that make you feel this way can be described as agitating. To agitate something is to shake it up, stir it up, or cause it to move around roughly, as in The storm agitated the water, stirring up huge waves. The noun agitation refers to the act or process of agitating in this way. It also commonly refers to the state or feeling of being agitated, as in There is a lot of agitation among the employees who have not yet been paid. The verb agitate is also used in a more specific way to mean to attempt to promote support or opposition for a political or social cause, especially by repeatedly raising the issue and bringing awareness to it. The act of doing this can be called agitation, and a person who does this can be called an agitator. Example: The cable news channel blaring in the waiting room really agitates me—they really shouldn’t have that around people who are about to get their blood pressure taken.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reagitateverb
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overagitateverb (used with object)
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preagitateverb (used with object)
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agitableadjective
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agitatedadjective
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agitativeadjective
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agitatedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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agitatesimple
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agitatessimple
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have agitatedperfect
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has agitatedperfect
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am agitatingprogressive
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are agitatingprogressive
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is agitatingprogressive
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have been agitatingperfect progressive
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has been agitatingperfect progressive
Past
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agitatedsimple
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had agitatedperfect
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was agitatingprogressive
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were agitatingprogressive
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had been agitatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of agitate
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin agitātus, past participle of agitāre “to set in motion,” literally, “to do repeatedly,” from agere “to do, drive”
Explanation
Agitate means to stir up. If you watch a horror movie at bedtime, you may be too agitated to sleep. Movies like that can agitate all sorts of adrenaline responses in the body. Agitate derives from a Latin word that means "to drive away." The meaning has changed, but you can see where old meets new—a washing machine agitates dirty clothes in warm soapy water to drive away the dirt. You agitate or shake up salad dressing to mix it, driving the oil away into the vinegar.
Vocabulary lists containing agitate
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
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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:
They are notorious goons, despised virtually everywhere for their ability to agitate, aggrieve and annoy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
Other practical tips include not screaming, flapping your arms or swatting at wasps, as this will agitate them and make them more aggressive.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2025
“Oftentimes, we agitate a situation, we don’t have to take a person into custody,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
It appeared to agitate Cannon, who questioned the prosecution about why it was being brought up for the first time at the hearing.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2023
I would agitate against the bemused person who was attempting to help me upward, that is.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
And this is kind of a shame, because the story agitates the brain far more than it does the stomach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025
Conversely, when researchers injected the rats with a substance that agitates the immune system, the inflammatory cytokine levels rapidly shot up.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2024
Tinseltown, it seems, is in the midst of an AI boom — even as its creative class agitates for limits on how that technology gets deployed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2023
"The Duke" has its heart in the right place, too, championing a principled man who agitates against inequality.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2022
And then something else happens that agitates Helmuth, that makes him all the more determined to wake up the people of Germany.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
“I get a little agitated and the pace is really, really different.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
They know their cognition will continue to fade, and they might live for years in an agitated, delusional state where they’ll need round-the-clock care from people they don’t recognize.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Martínez-Olguín said she inherited the case because she was already overseeing another lawsuit dealing with the merger — not because Paramount had agitated for a change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
I feel guilty he's become agitated and distressed.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
His gait was agitated and he always kept his hands stuffed tight into the pockets of his trousers.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Landlocked Ethiopia, home to around 130 million people and one of Africa’s strongest economies, has been agitating for sea access.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
Buck Turgidson, one of the film’s most memorable characters, while agitating the president in the war room for a first strike against the Soviet Union.
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026
It’s certainly a sight better than Operation Total Nuuk Submission, which requires agitating the whole of the European Continent, weirding out allies, and posturing over title like a persnickety real-estate agent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
Conversations about his goals implicitly involved an assessment of his prospects, which was agitating.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025
After agitating for so long for the race, he said no to Swope’s proposal.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
