incite
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Related Words
Incite, rouse, provoke, inflame are verbs meaning to goad or inspire an individual or a group to take some action or to express some feeling. Incite and rouse are similar in that, although they can imply in some contexts abrasive or inflammatory arousal of violent or uncontrolled behavior, neither necessarily does so. Incite means simply to induce activity, of whatever kind: incited to greater effort by encouragement; incited to riot. Rouse has an underlying sense of awakening: to rouse the apathetic soldiers to a determination to win; to rouse the inattentive public to an awareness of the danger. Provoke implies a sense of challenge or irritation along with arousal and often suggests a resultant anger or violence: provoked by scathing references to his accomplishments; to provoke a wave of resentment. Inflame, with its root sense to set afire, implies a resultant intensity and passion: to inflame a mob by fiery speeches; He was inflamed to rage by constant frustration.
Other Word Forms
- incitable adjective
- incitant adjective
- incitation noun
- incitement noun
- inciter noun
- incitingly adverb
- reincite verb (used with object)
- unincited adjective
Etymology
Origin of incite
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin incitāre, from in- in- 2 + citāre “to move repeatedly, set in motion, summon” ( cite 1 )
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.
Amnesty International says roughly 400 people have been arrested for supporting the NUP in recent months on charges including malicious damage to property or inciting violence.
From Barron's
The man in the tub is the French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat, a journalist and physician who had incited a series of judicial massacres.
Their passion incited a change of the film’s ending, and in turn, one of the all-time great professions of love ever captured on film — a change of fate, right at the stroke of midnight.
From Salon
The inciting incident came on Nov. 18 with the release of a video message featuring Kelly and five other Democrats — Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Reps.
From Salon
"Prosecutors need to prove intent and causation that a post directly incited terrorism."
From BBC
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.
