incite
Americanverb (used with object)
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incites,
present (3rd person singular)
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incited,
past participle, past
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inciting
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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incitationnoun
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incitementnoun
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inciternoun
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reinciteverb (used with object)
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incitableadjective
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incitantadjective
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unincitedadjective
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incitinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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incitesimple
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incitessimple
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have incitedperfect
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has incitedperfect
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am incitingprogressive
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are incitingprogressive
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is incitingprogressive
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have been incitingperfect progressive
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has been incitingperfect progressive
Past
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incitedsimple
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had incitedperfect
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was incitingprogressive
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were incitingprogressive
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had been incitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incite
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin incitāre, from in- in- 2 + citāre “to move repeatedly, set in motion, summon” ( see cite 1)
Explanation
To incite is to cause to act or occur. Violent words can incite violent actions which, in turn, might incite public outcry against violence. Incite comes from a Latin verb meaning "to move into action" and if you incite someone to do something, that is exactly how to describe it. Usually it is used in a negative context. Radical and intolerant teachings can incite hatred in those who listen. And if a government restricts its people too much, it can incite unrest and rebellion in the population.
Vocabulary lists containing incite
Fahrenheit 451
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Some Tricky Homonyms
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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:
He said the visa restrictions would target those who promote "race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa."
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Boll believes Germany “banned” the film by not assigning it an age rating, fearing it could incite violence, making it unfit for German theatrical release.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
She said it was infuriating that those opposed to rodeos would try to incite fear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
IPO mania has begun, and nothing kickstarts initial public offerings like spreadsheets flashing green to incite the crowd.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
I had found all sorts of ways to incite a quarrel between Phil and Gay, which gave me a perverse satisfaction—until Phil lost his usual cool and stormed out to his workshop.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Bree begins the film desperately wanting gender-affirming surgery, so much so that her urgency incites the film’s madcap mumblecore events.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
"Real Madrid condemns this type of gesture and expression that incites violence and hatred in sports and society."
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
In Eugene: John Belushi’s character Bluto incites the famous “Animal House” food fight at the Erb Memorial Union cafeteria at the University of Oregon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Last month, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said tech firms "have an obligation now" to tackle material that incites violence.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2024
I can see how our words are like fuel that incites him further.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
The measure bars or expels foreigners deemed to have "spread or incited hate messages" against the country or its people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
While this push to redirect the country’s scientific research has incited alarm, reactions to interventions in the historical humanities have been more muted.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Kaufman wrote that the dare incited “hateful, offensive, and dangerous acts.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
The man in the tub is the French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat, a journalist and physician who had incited a series of judicial massacres.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
Most of them gave technical evidence to show that I left the country illegally and that I had incited African workers to strike during the three-day stay-at-home in May 1961.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Acme conspicuously sets the plot’s inciting actions in 1992—the same year Warner Bros. officially merged its entertainment operations with those of Time Inc., making for one of the largest media houses in the world.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
A Hong Kong court convicted activists Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan of inciting subversion under the territory’s national security law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
He was arrested a day after the planned nationwide protests and initially charged with inciting people to join them.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
A brilliant cameo from Aniston promoting her new cookbook, with such adventurous epicurean dishes as “boiled hot dogs and peas,” serves as the film’s inciting event.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
I was looking for other words for inciting and instigating work, and came upon “to egg on.”
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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