stirring
Americanadjective
-
rousing, exciting, or thrilling.
a stirring speech.
-
moving, active, bustling, or lively.
a stirring business.
noun
-
a mental impulse, sensation, or feeling.
stirrings of hope.
-
a small movement.
the best thing she could do was to pretend that her husband's nocturnal stirrings didn't wake her
adjective
-
exciting the emotions; stimulating
-
active, lively, or busy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of stirring
before 900; Middle English stiringe, Old English styriende. See stir 1, -ing 2
Explanation
Something that's stirring is gripping or moving—it inspires some kind of powerful emotion, like Martin Luther King, Jr.'s stirring "I Have a Dream" speech. When people sing stirring songs at church, during a protest march, or around the piano at home, they might make you cry, while a stirring public speaker often makes the crowd feel enthusiastic and roused to action. In the 15th century, this adjective had a much more literal meaning: "in active motion, or animated." The verb stir, "move, rouse, or agitate," shares a root with storm.
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:
Dahlia Lithwick’s stirring opening essay is definitely worth a read.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Haaland’s singularity was a testament to how humanity seeks heroes — but Spain’s ultimate triumph via crisp passes and selfless teamwork offered a stirring, convincing collective counterpoint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The Centre Court crowd rallied behind Djokovic, chanting the Serb's name in the hope of stirring him to a fightback - but opportunities remained difficult to come by.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Kim Clijsters is probably the most stirring recent one, returning after motherhood and a two-year layoff and winning back-to-back U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
When a couple of hours had passed I heard something stirring in the Count’s room, something like a sharp wail quickly suppressed; and then there was silence, deep, awful silence, which chilled me.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
And everywhere the ambient stirrings of the 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen mega-audio with integrated noise canceling, featuring a “Quiet mode” that allows adults in front to talk without waking the kids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
The first real stirrings of a proper red army in the land of the green and the gold.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
Or you may think it is connected to the first stirrings of an embryo in the womb.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
For Americans aware of Europe’s fascist stirrings, the Welles/Wells invasion hit home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2023
It was almost dark, and Matthias had begun to feel the stirrings of real panic when they finally spotted the first of the whaling camps.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
