instigate

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 The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.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 instigate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Etymology

From the Latin instigatus, past participle of instigare (“to instigate”), from prefix in- in + *stigare, akin to stinguere (“push, goad”). Akin to German stechen (“to prick”), English stick.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

instigate (third-person singular simple present instigates, present participle instigating, simple past and past participle instigated)

1. (transitive) To incite; to bring about by urging or encouraging.

   to instigate a riot

2. (transitive) To goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions; to provoke.

   to instigate someone to a crime

   • Bishop Warburton

     He hath only instigated his blackest agents to the very extent of their malignity.

Synonyms

• (to goad or urge forward): animate, encourage, impel, incite, provoke, spur, stimulate, tempt, urge

Antonyms

• (to goad or urge forward): halt, prevent, stop

Derived terms

• instigation
• instigator

Translations

to goad or urge forward; to set on; to provoke; to incite

• Arabic: حَرَضَ‎‎ (ḥaraḍa), دَفَعَ‎‎ (ar) (dafaʿa)
• Armenian: սադրել (hy) (sadrel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 煽動 (zh), 煽动 (zh) (shāndòng), 指使 (zh) (zhǐshǐ)

• Dutch: aanstichten (nl)
• French: inciter (fr), susciter (fr)
• German: anstiften, hetzen (de)

• Hungarian: felbujt (hu), provokál (hu), uszít (hu)
• Japanese: 煽動する (せんどうする, sendō suru)
• Maori: whakatū, whakakīkī
• Portuguese: instigar (pt)
• Russian: подстрека́ть (ru) (podstrekátʹ), подбива́ть (ru) (podbivátʹ), подгова́ривать (ru) (podgovárivatʹ)
• Swedish: pressa fram

Further reading

• instigate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• instigate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Esperanto

Adverb

instigate

1. present adverbial passive participle of instigi

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Latin

Verb

instīgāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of instīgō