agitate

verb
/ˈæ.d͡ʒɪ.teɪt/UK

Etymology

From Middle English agitat(e) (“set in motion”), borrowed from Latin agitātus, perfect passive participle of agitō (“to put in motion”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of agō (“to drive, move, push”), see -tō. Cognate with French agiter. See also act and agent.

  1. borrowed from agitātus
  2. inherited from agitat — “set in motion

Definitions

  1. To disturb or excite

    To disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person).

    • He was greatly agitated by the news.
  2. To cause to move with a violent, irregular action

    To cause to move with a violent, irregular action; to shake.

    • to agitate water in a vessel
    • The wind agitates the sea.
  3. To participate in political agitation (sense 3).

    • NAMBLA is working to build a coalition of gay, lesbian, progressive and civil liberties groups to agitate against the increasing state attacks on gay men who associate with boys.
  4. + 3 more definitions
    1. To set in motion

      To set in motion; to actuate.

    2. To discuss or debate.

      • Your speech at the time a bill for the regency was agitated now lies before me.
    3. To mull over, or think deeply about

      To mull over, or think deeply about; to consider, to devise.

      • Politicians agitate desperate designs.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at agitate. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01agitate02violent03conflict04fulfilled05emotionally06emotions07emotion08agitation09agitating

A definitional loop anchored at agitate. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at agitate

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA