agita

American  

[aj-i-tuh] / ˈædʒ ɪ tə /

noun

1. heartburn; indigestion.

2. agitation; anxiety.

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Etymology

Origin of agita

1980–85, < Italian, < agitare < Latin agitāre agitate

Explanation

Agita is a feeling of anxiety, or agitation, like the agita your grandmother gets when she hears you and your brother arguing loudly over what show to watch on TV. While agita is often used as a synonym for agitation, it actually derives from acido, an Italian word meaning "heartburn." You can use it either way, or both: "I'm feeling so much agita because I can't sleep after getting that terrible agita earlier from eating a whole bag of Doritos." In the mid-20th century, it was mostly New Yorkers of Italian descent who used the word agita, though it became more widespread by the 1990s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

agita

Hugh Bonneville’s stress-and-coffee agita as director of integrity for the games will burn a hole in your stomach just from watching.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Still, the causes for the agita are pretty clear.

From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025

Any episode of the restaurant-set FX series has more agita and fewer jokes than most dramas.

From New York Times ● Jan. 7, 2024

That makes "Hegemony" more than another send-up of James Cameron's "Aliens" – although it recreates that classic's claustrophobic agita very well.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2023

Japanese automakers, meanwhile, lag so far in EVs that it’s causing agita and turnover in their top executive ranks, especially at hybrid-centric Toyota, which recently replaced its chief executive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2023