Agitate — Ag i*tate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Agitated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Agitating}.] [L. agitatus, p. p. of agitare to put in motion, fr. agere to move: cf. F. agiter. See {Act}, {Agent}.] 1. To move with a violent, irregular action; as, the wind agitates… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
agitate — [v1] shake physically beat, churn, concuss, convulse, disturb, rock, rouse, stir, toss; concept 152 Ant. calm, lull, quiet, soothe, tranquilize agitate [v2] disturb, trouble someone alarm, argue, arouse, bug*, bug up*, burn up*, confuse, craze*,… … New thesaurus
agitate — ► VERB 1) make troubled or nervous. 2) campaign to arouse public concern about an issue. 3) stir or disturb (a liquid) briskly. DERIVATIVES agitation noun. ORIGIN Latin agitare agitate, drive … English terms dictionary
agitate — [aj′i tāt΄] vt. agitated, agitating [< L agitatus, pp. of agitare, to put in motion < agere, ACT1] 1. a) to move violently b) to stir up or shake up 2. to excite or disturb the feelings of … English World dictionary
agitate — I (activate) verb actuate, arouse, coax, electrify, energize, excite, exhort, ferment, foment, goad, impel, incite, induce, inflame, influence, inspire, inspirit, instigate, irritate, kindle, persuade, prompt, provoke, roil, rouse, spur,… … Law dictionary
agitate — (v.) 1580s, to disturb, from L. agitatus, pp. of agitare to put in constant motion, drive onward, impel, frequentative of agere to move, drive (see AGITATION (Cf. agitation)). Literal sense of move to and fro, shake is from 1590s. Related:… … Etymology dictionary
agitate — 1 *shake, rock, convulse Analogous words: *stir, rouse, arouse: *move, actuate, drive, impel Antonyms: quiet, lull, still 2 perturb, *discompose, upset, fluster, flurry, disturb, disquiet Analogous words: * … New Dictionary of Synonyms
agitate — [16] Agitate is one of a host of English words descended ultimately from Latin agere (see AGENT). Among the many meanings of agere was ‘drive, move’, and a verb derived from it denoting repeated action, agitāre, hence meant ‘move to and fro’.… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
agitate — [c]/ˈædʒəteɪt / (say ajuhtayt) verb (agitated, agitating) –verb (t) 1. to move or force into irregular action; shake or move: *A sigh of relief, the merest of zephyrs, coming from thirty listeners, was just sufficient to agitate the buttercups.… …
agitate — v. 1) to agitate strongly 2) (D; intr.) to agitate against; for (they were agitating for reform) * * * [ ædʒɪteɪt] for (they were agitateing for reform) (D; intr.) to agitate against to agitate strongly … Combinatory dictionary
