instigate
[in-sti-geyt]
- to cause by incitement; foment: to instigate a quarrel.
- to urge, provoke, or incite to some action or course: to instigate the people to revolt.
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Origin of instigate
Synonyms
See more synonyms for instigate on Thesaurus.com1. arouse, provoke. 2. induce, stimulate, encourage, push; initiate, start.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for instigating
Contemporary Examples
Nor do I believe that was what the president was instigating.
Instigating military involvement without considering these issues is nothing more than a short-sighted action.
Australian brand Solid Gold Bomb was caught hawking rape-themed T-shirts on Amazon's UK site, instigating public horror.
Bakkar and his fellow Salafists were blamed by some for instigating the chaos, though they condemned the violence from the start.
Nader Bakkar, Salafist Spokeman, on the Embassy Riots and Bridge Building in a Post–Arab Spring EgyptMike Giglio
September 25, 2012
But he said he later saw a police report accusing him of instigating the violence and organizing a riot outside the courtroom.
Historical Examples
The question is, whether he be guilty as joining with him, or instigating of him?
Stevens was charged with instigating riots and barn-burnings.
Dixie After the WarMyrta Lockett Avary
The bards have ever been foremost in instigating insurrections in Wales.
Both Sides the BorderG. A. Henty
For a long time Cetchwayo had been instigating rebellion and preparing for war.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 6)Louis Creswicke
His merit in that eminence was, by instigating a tyrant to injustice, to provoke a people to rebellion.
The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886Ministry of Education
instigate
- to bring about, as by incitement or urgingto instigate rebellion
- to urge on to some drastic or inadvisable action
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin instīgāre to stimulate, incite; compare Greek stizein to prick
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for instigating
instigate
v.
1540s, back-formation from instigation or else from Latin instigatus, past participle of instigare "to urge on, incite" (see instigation). Related: Instigated; instigates; instigating.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper