agitate

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ag·i·tate

(ăj′ĭ-tāt′)

v. ag·i·tat·ed, ag·i·tat·ing, ag·i·tates

v.tr.

1. To cause to move with violence or sudden force.

2. To upset; disturb: was agitated by the alarming news.

3. To arouse interest in (a cause, for example) by use of the written or spoken word; discuss or debate.

v.intr.

To stir up public interest in a cause: agitate for a tax reduction.

[Latin agitāre, agitāt-, frequentative of agere, to drive, do; see ag- in Indo-European roots.]

ag′i·tat′ed·ly (-tā′tĭd-lē) adv.

ag′i·ta′tive adj.

Synonyms: agitate, churn, convulse, rock², shake
These verbs mean to cause to move to and fro violently: surface water agitated by the boat's propeller; a storm churning the waves; buildings convulsed by an explosion; a hurricane rocking trees and houses; an earthquake that shook the ground.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

agitate

(ˈædʒɪˌteɪt)

1. (tr) to excite, disturb, or trouble (a person, the mind, or feelings); worry

2. (tr) to cause to move vigorously; shake, stir, or disturb

3. (intr; often foll by for or against) to attempt to stir up public opinion for or against something

4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (tr) to discuss or debate in order to draw attention to or gain support for (a cause, etc): to agitate a political cause.

[C16: from Latin agitātus, from agitāre to move to and fro, set into motion, from agere to act, do]

ˈagiˌtated adj

ˈagiˌtatedly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ag•i•tate

(ˈædʒ ɪˌteɪt)

v. -tat•ed, -tat•ing. v.t.

1. to move or force into violent, irregular action.

2. to shake or move briskly.

3. to disturb or excite emotionally; perturb.

4. to call attention to by speech or writing; discuss; debate.

v.i.

5. to arouse or attempt to arouse public interest and support, as in a political or social cause.

[1580–90; < Latin agitātus, past participle of agitāre frequentative of agere to drive, do, act]

agitate

Past participle: agitated
Gerund: agitating

Imperative
agitate
agitate

Present
I agitate
you agitate
he/she/it agitates
we agitate
you agitate
they agitate

Preterite
I agitated
you agitated
he/she/it agitated
we agitated
you agitated
they agitated

Present Continuous
I am agitating
you are agitating
he/she/it is agitating
we are agitating
you are agitating
they are agitating

Present Perfect
I have agitated
you have agitated
he/she/it has agitated
we have agitated
you have agitated
they have agitated

Past Continuous
I was agitating
you were agitating
he/she/it was agitating
we were agitating
you were agitating
they were agitating

Past Perfect
I had agitated
you had agitated
he/she/it had agitated
we had agitated
you had agitated
they had agitated

Future
I will agitate
you will agitate
he/she/it will agitate
we will agitate
you will agitate
they will agitate

Future Perfect
I will have agitated
you will have agitated
he/she/it will have agitated
we will have agitated
you will have agitated
they will have agitated

Future Continuous
I will be agitating
you will be agitating
he/she/it will be agitating
we will be agitating
you will be agitating
they will be agitating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been agitating
you have been agitating
he/she/it has been agitating
we have been agitating
you have been agitating
they have been agitating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been agitating
you will have been agitating
he/she/it will have been agitating
we will have been agitating
you will have been agitating
they will have been agitating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been agitating
you had been agitating
he/she/it had been agitating
we had been agitating
you had been agitating
they had been agitating

Conditional
I would agitate
you would agitate
he/she/it would agitate
we would agitate
you would agitate
they would agitate

Past Conditional
I would have agitated
you would have agitated
he/she/it would have agitated
we would have agitated
you would have agitated
they would have agitated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

agitate

To gently shake the contents of a pan.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	agitate - try to stir up public opinion foment, stir up provoke, stimulate - provide the needed stimulus for rumpus - cause a disturbance
	2.	agitate - cause to be agitated, excited, or roused; "The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks" charge up, commove, rouse, excite, turn on, charge hype up, psych up - get excited or stimulated; "The children were all psyched up after the movie" disturb, trouble, upset - move deeply; "This book upset me"; "A troubling thought" bother - make nervous or agitated; "The mere thought of her bothered him and made his heart beat faster" pother - make upset or troubled electrify - excite suddenly and intensely; "The news electrified us" calm, still, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize, calm down, quiet, quieten, lull - make calm or still; "quiet the dragons of worry and fear"
	3.	agitate - exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for; "The liberal party pushed for reforms"; "She is crusading for women's rights"; "The Dean is pushing for his favorite candidate" crusade, campaign, fight, push, press advertize, advertise, promote, push - make publicity for; try to sell (a product); "The salesman is aggressively pushing the new computer model"; "The company is heavily advertizing their new laptops"
	4.	agitate - move very slightly; "He shifted in his seat" budge, stir, shift move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"
	5.	agitate - move or cause to move back and forth; "The chemist shook the flask vigorously"; "My hands were shaking" shake fluff up, plump up, shake up - make fuller by shaking; "fluff up the pillows" move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" fan - agitate the air tremble - move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways; "His hands were trembling when he signed the document" tremor, quake - shake with seismic vibrations; "The earth was quaking" palpitate - cause to throb or beat rapidly; "Her violent feelings palpitated the young woman's heart" convulse - shake uncontrollably; "earthquakes convulsed the countryside" sparge - agitate by introducing air or compressed gas; "sparge the water" succuss, shake up - shake; especially (a patient to detect fluids or air in the body) concuss - shake violently rattle - shake and cause to make a rattling noise jactitate, thrash about, thresh, thresh about, thrash, convulse, toss, slash - move or stir about violently; "The feverish patient thrashed around in his bed" jiggle, joggle, wiggle - move to and fro; "Don't jiggle your finger while the nurse is putting on the bandage!"
	6.	agitate - change the arrangement or position of raise up, commove, disturb, stir up, vex, shake up scramble, beat - stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream" toss - agitate; "toss the salad" rile, roil - make turbid by stirring up the sediments of poke - stir by poking; "poke the embers in the fireplace" move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"

agitate

verb

1. protest, campaign, push, demonstrate, drive, crusade, cry out The women had begun to agitate for better conditions.

2. stir, beat, mix, shake, disturb, toss, rouse, churn Gently agitate the water with a paintbrush.

3. upset, worry, trouble, disturb, excite, alarm, stimulate, distract, rouse, ruffle, inflame, incite, unnerve, disconcert, disquiet, fluster, perturb, faze, work someone up, give someone grief (Brit. & S. African) The thought of them inheriting all these things agitated her.
upset still, quiet, calm, soothe, calm down, appease, placate, assuage, pacify, quieten, mollify, tranquillize

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

agitate

verb

1. To cause to move to and fro violently:

churn, convulse, rock, shake.

2. To impair or destroy the composure of:

bother, discompose, disquiet, distract, disturb, flurry, fluster, perturb, rock, ruffle, shake (up), toss, unsettle, upset.

Informal: rattle.

Translations

يُثِير المَوْضُوع، يُنَاقِشيُحَرِّك، يَهُزيُقْلِق، يُثِير، يُهِيج المَشَاعِر

agitovatvzrušitzmítatzneklidnit

agitereforuroligegøre nervøsryste

agitieren bewegen wühlen beunruhigen

ταράζω

agitar

agiter débattre émouvoir exciter hérisser

agitál

hrista, ÿfakoma úr jafnvægireka áróîur fyrir

agitarsi agitatore agitazione discutere tumulto

agitatoriusagituotikelti nerimąpurtytisukelti nerimą

aģitētsakratītsapurinātsatrauktuzbudināt

agitere oppvigle riste ryste skake

агитировать волновать

endişelendirmekkamuoyunun ilgisini çekmeye çalışmakkaygılandırmaksallamak

使焦虑摇动煽动

agitate

[ˈædʒɪteɪt]

A. VT

1. (= excite, upset) → inquietar, perturbar

2. (= shake) → agitar

B. VI (Pol) to agitate for sth → hacer campaña en pro de algo
to agitate against sth → hacer campaña en contra de algo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

agitate

[ˈædʒɪteɪt]

(= worry) [+ person] → perturber

[+ liquid] → remuer; [+ molecules] → agiter

vi (politically) → faire de l'agitation politique
to agitate for sth (= campaign for) → faire campagne pour qch
to agitate against sth (= campaign against) → faire campagne contre qch

agitate

(lit) liquid → aufrühren; surface of water → aufwühlen; washing → hin und her bewegen

(fig: = excite, upset) → aufregen, aus der Fassung bringen; don’t let him agitate you → lass dich von ihm nicht aufregen

vi → agitieren; to agitate for something → sich für etw starkmachen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

agitate

[ˈædʒɪteɪt]

1. vt (perturb) → turbare, mettere in (uno stato di) agitazione; (shake) → agitare

2. vi (Pol) to agitate (for/against) → fare un'agitazione (per/contro)

agitate

(ˈӕdʒiteit) verb

1. to make (someone) excited and anxious. The news agitated her.

2. to try to arouse public feeling and action. That group is agitating for prison reform.

3. to shake. The tree was agitated by the wind.

ˈagitated adjective

ˌagiˈtation noun

ˈagitator noun

a person who tries constantly to stir up public feeling. a political agitator.

agitate

vt. [to shake] agitar, sacudir; [to upset] inquietar, perturbar.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Reginald, you agitate me beyond expression, I cannot suppose that the old story of Mrs.

View in context

We are not to conclude too hastily, however, that faction did not, in a certain degree, agitate the particular cities; much less that a due subordination and harmony reigned in the general system.

View in context

Mulade insisted that the Niger Delta people were no longer interested in arms struggle to agitate for the development of the region, saying that 'we can no longer put up with individuals masquerading as those agitating for the development of the region.