agitate. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

agitate

SYLLABICATION:	ag·i·tate
PRONUNCIATION:	j-tt
VERB:	Inflected forms: ag·i·tat·ed, ag·i·tat·ing, ag·i·tates
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To cause to move with violence or sudden force. 2. To upset; disturb: was agitated by the alarming news. 3. To arouse interest in (a cause, for example) by use of the written or spoken word; debate.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To stir up public interest in a cause: agitate for a tax reduction.
ETYMOLOGY:	Latin agitre, agitt-, frequentative of agere, to drive, do. See ag- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	agi·tated·ly (-ttd-l) —ADVERB agi·tative —ADJECTIVE
SYNONYMS:	agitate, churn, convulse, rock², shake These verbs mean to cause to move to and fro violently: land agitated by tremors; a storm churning the waves; buildings and streets convulsed by an explosion; a hurricane rocking trees and houses; an earthquake that shook the ground.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.