instigate
verb
Did you know?
It's time to investigate the true meaning of instigate. Instigate is often used as a synonym of incite (as in "siblings instigating a fight"), but the two words differ slightly in their overall usage. Incite usually stresses an act of stirring something up that one did not necessarily initiate ("the court's decision incited riots"), while instigate implies responsibility for initiating or encouraging someone else's action, and usually suggests dubious or underhanded intent ("he was charged with instigating a conspiracy"). Coming from a form of the Latin verb instigare ("to urge on or provoke"), instigate stepped into English in the 1500s, roughly a century after incite.
Examples of instigate in a Sentence
Rich Lowry, National Review, 20 May 2025
His most recent feature-length project instigated some eye-rolls (Asteroid City) and a 39-minute short released later that year was mostly ignored (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, an underrated gem).
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025
Before his appointment, Martin promoted conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 attack, including the claim that federal agents instigated the violence.
—Tom Dreisbach, NPR, 8 May 2025
Mars in Leo squares Uranus in Taurus, instigating personal and societal growth.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for instigate
Cite this Entry
“Instigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/instigate. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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