Synonyms

incite

American

[in-sahyt] / ɪnˈsaɪt /

verb (used with object)

incited, inciting

to stir, encourage, or urge on; stimulate or prompt to action.

to incite a crowd to riot.

Synonyms:

induce, fire, exhort, arouse, spur, goad, provoke, instigate

Antonyms:

discourage

incite British

/ ɪnˈsaɪt /

verb

(tr) to stir up or provoke to action

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Mr. Ho, former chairman of the group behind the annual Tiananmen vigil, is in poor health and has pleaded guilty to inciting subversion.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then again, if he ran there now, he could combine the sweatiness and out-of-breathness with the fear to see if it was all three of them together that was the inciting factor.

From Literature

Someone ordered an Irish whiskey and didn’t incite a diplomatic incident.

From The Wall Street Journal

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in a post on X that France's "rule of law is non-negotiable; actions that are violent in nature or incite hatred have no place on our territory".

From BBC

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023