Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To stimulate to an action or course; incite to do something; set or goad on; urge: generally in a bad sense: as, to instigate one to commit a crime.
- To stir up; foment; bring about by incitement or persuasion: as, to instigate crime or insurrection; to instigate a quarrel. Synonyms Impel, Induce, etc. (see
actuate ); tempt, prevail upon. See list underincite .
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To goad or urge forward; to set on; to provoke; to incite; -- used chiefly with reference to evil actions.
WordNet 3.0
- v. serve as the inciting cause of
- v. provoke or stir up
Etymologies
- 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. (Wiktionary)
- Latin īnstīgāre, īnstīgāt-; see steig- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Did all those taped messages and cell calls instigate a double homicide?”
“One cafe owner, who asked not to be quoted by name, was called to the local police station in the Gulou, or Drum Tower, area and warned that "overseas reactionary forces" might try to "instigate" some actions on Friday night.”
The Washington Post: On eve of Nobel ceremony, China cracks down and lashes out
“Areas like Atlanta down through Tampa and parts of Florida will see some heavy rainfall today and that kind of instigate some delays there.”
“He had a funny sort of job it seemed to us, going around the several counties there and what appeared to be trying to "instigate" something with any group or anyone, my husband included.”
“Scratch the word "instigate" as is true, may not be the appropriate word.”
“Even if UMNO says it is willing to change, there are still a handful of recalcitrant leaders who are more than ready to "instigate" the other races.”
“A neutral flagged EML Gateway with RLLs that allowed every spacefaring nation access to the lunar surface could help instigate a genuine "Moon-rush" of competition, driven by national prestige, even if tangible economic return is delayed for decades.”
“Listening to him instigate a battle between the sexes made the traffic seem not so bad.”
“If you decide to instigate riots, you can be denied bail for 180 days," said Daudi Migereko, the chief whip for the ruling party in parliament, referring to the bill now being discussed.”
The Wall Street Journal: Ugandan Physician Offers Revolutionary Cure
“Pfizer Corp. helped instigate the redevelopment plan in the hope that the new facilities would benefit its planned new headquarters.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » James Ely on Stevens, Kagan, Obama, and Property Rights
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘instigate’.
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 318 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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set phasers to...
you name the setting
I've tuned mine to be gentler and kinder
following suit is not mandatory but would be appreciatedcoddle, confuse, flummox, tap, furrow, instigate, invigorate, punnify, logical, must... act... be..., bowdlerise, laughing gas and 435 more...
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EN - eloquence in public speaking
Key words from "The Training of a Public Speaker" by Grenville Kleiser (New York and London, 1920)
beget, imago, Vespasian, languid, studied, judgment, dwindle, artifice, contribute, observe, sonorous, gladiator and 264 more...
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Dr Adv Ujwala D Andrews
love, holy, intimate, lents, arbritary, revenge, difficult, prescribe, scribe, decree, heriot, registration, injunction and 10 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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reginaterra's Words
purl, blow, squish, andean, generality, adaptation, lush, pack, filter, acquiesce, abstraction, sweet and 508 more...
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Words that delight me
tepid, perfunctory, trope, benign, inordinate, bewildering, ersatz, boon, delectable, apt, scuttlebutt, sequester and 398 more...
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chibiryuu's Words
sugary, amalgam, zaftig, incommensurability, isomorphism, fold, awesome, cute, hack, dichotomy, pyrrhic, bifurcate and 89 more...
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amy's GRE 2012
gimmicks, kowtow, unpretentious, skeptical, cynical, somber, prevaricate, equivocate, requisite, embellish, impregnable, procrastinate and 307 more...
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favorite words
ennui, bonhomie, eschew, liaison, serendipity, lovely, dusk, kitten, epitome, sexy, beloved, darling and 396 more...
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verbs
deprecate, behold, bemoan, circumscribe, circumspect, pivot, discombobulate, rummage, chasten, chastise, undulate, snog and 122 more...
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5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
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conglomeration
wherewithal, wan, zoonotic, zoonosis, nebulous, nefarious, nascent, quiescent, quell, undercroft, unwitting, unutterable and 658 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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_mark's list
Words I like!
( personal list, favorite words, randomness )psy, nanobot, success, smack, vibration, microcosmic, springgraph, marksmanship, estranged, homoerotic, flex, fiasco and 1696 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for instigate.
reesetee Oops. May 2, 2009
mollusque Umm, it was your turn.
Has anyone seen bilby? May 2, 2009
reesetee Whose turn is it to watch? May 1, 2009
mollusque So that's how bilby keeps escaping. Apr 28, 2009
sionnach ready-made fence entrance
(Lewis M Gediman: Semantricks) Jan 8, 2009