Link Centre Dictionary

instigate

ins·ti·gate

UK/ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/ US/ˈɪnstʌˌɡeɪt/ rare

verb

1.

provoke or stir up

  • “incite a riot”
  • “set off great unrest among the people”
Synonyms
2.

serve as the inciting cause of

  • “She prompted me to call my relatives”
Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Latin īnstīgātus, perfect passive participle of īnstīgō (“to instigate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.