incite
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Related Words
Incite, rouse, provoke, inflame are verbs meaning to goad or inspire an individual or a group to take some action or to express some feeling. Incite and rouse are similar in that, although they can imply in some contexts abrasive or inflammatory arousal of violent or uncontrolled behavior, neither necessarily does so. Incite means simply to induce activity, of whatever kind: incited to greater effort by encouragement; incited to riot. Rouse has an underlying sense of awakening: to rouse the apathetic soldiers to a determination to win; to rouse the inattentive public to an awareness of the danger. Provoke implies a sense of challenge or irritation along with arousal and often suggests a resultant anger or violence: provoked by scathing references to his accomplishments; to provoke a wave of resentment. Inflame, with its root sense to set afire, implies a resultant intensity and passion: to inflame a mob by fiery speeches; He was inflamed to rage by constant frustration.
Other Word Forms
- incitable adjective
- incitant adjective
- incitation noun
- incitement noun
- inciter noun
- incitingly adverb
- reincite verb (used with object)
- unincited adjective
Etymology
Origin of incite
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin incitāre, from in- in- 2 + citāre “to move repeatedly, set in motion, summon” ( cite 1 )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The inciting incident came on Nov. 18 with the release of a video message featuring Kelly and five other Democrats — Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Reps.
From Salon
Facebook told Business Insider at the time the posts "were removed for violating our policies against inciting violence".
From BBC
Maduro has denied the allegation and accuses the US of trying to incite a war to gain control of Venezuela's oil reserves.
From BBC
A Democratic representative accused Brooks of inciting rioters on Jan. 6, which Brooks denied; the civil case was later dismissed.
From Salon
The allegation is that these praised what was happening and incited her legion of social media followers, some 100,000 at the time, to press on with the mayhem.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
