agitate

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English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “agitate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Etymology

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(deprecated template usage)

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin agitatus, past participle of agitare (“to put in motion”), from agere (“to move”). Compare with French agiter. See act, agent.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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  1. (transitive) To cause to move with a violent, irregular action
    • 1830, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford
      It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.
    the wind agitates the sea
    to agitate water in a vessel
  2. (intransitive, rare) To move or actuate.
  3. (transitive) To stir up; to disturb or excite; to perturb
    He was greatly agitated by the news.
    • (Can we date this quote by Johnson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      The mind of man is agitated by various passions.
  4. (transitive) To discuss with great earnestness; to debate
    to agitate a controversial subject
  5. (transitive) To revolve in the mind, or view in all its aspects; to contrive busily; to devise; to plot
    politicians agitate desperate designs

Synonyms

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Translations

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Further reading

Ido

Verb

agitate

  1. adverbial present passive participle of agitar

Italian

Adjective

agitate f

  1. feminine plural of agitato

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) agitāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of agitō

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English, from Latin agitatus. Cognate with English agitate.

Pronunciation

Verb

agitate (third-person singular simple present agitates, present participle agitatin, simple past agitatit, past participle agitate)

  1. to agitate

References

  • Eagle, Andy, editor (2024), “agitate”, in The Online Scots Dictionary‎[1]
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