Agitate
— to disturb; to campaign
Agitate means to disturb, unsettle, or make someone feel anxious and troubled. It also means to campaign or stir up public concern for a cause. When used physically, agitate can describe shaking or stirring something vigorously.
The word carries a sense of restlessness and disruption — whether it's emotional turmoil within a person, social unrest driven by activists, or the physical act of mixing a liquid. Agitate is commonly encountered in political, emotional, and scientific contexts.
Do you know what Agitate means?
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Memory Mnemonic
AJITH ATE
The keyword AJITH ATE comes from breaking Agitate into familiar sounds — AJITH (a person) and ATE. These everyday words are hiding inside the pronunciation, making the keyword easy to recall whenever you encounter the word.
Memory Link
AJITH ATE my food without asking—I'm so disturbed I'll campaign against food thieves
Notice how you have both the keyword - AJITH ATE - and the meaning - disturbed,campaign - in the memory link.
Remember to visualise this - see this vividly in action in your imagination. This helps immensely in retaining what you learn.
HOW TO MEMORIZE VOCABULARY
There are 3 steps to effectively memorising vocabulary.
Step 1: Derive a keyword from the word based on how the word is spelled or pronounced. Next time you see the word, you will be able to derive the keyword from it because it is based on the word.
Step 2: Form a visual memory link that connects the keyword and the meaning(s) of the word you are learning.
Step 3: Ensure to Visualise the image, see it in your imagination. This is important even if it takes a few seconds.
Usage Examples
- Union members have been agitating for better working conditions for months.
- The news of layoffs agitated the already nervous employees.
- The protesters continued to agitate for equal pay outside the company headquarters.
- Loud noises tend to agitate the patients in the hospital ward.
- You need to agitate the solution gently before applying it to the surface.
Etymology of Agitate
From Latin agitatus, past participle of agitare — "to put in motion, to drive, to stir up," a frequentative form of agere — "to do, to drive." The original sense was of constant, repeated motion — like stirring or shaking — which naturally extended to emotional disturbance and political stirring.
Synonyms & Antonyms of Agitate
Synonyms
Antonyms
Common Collocations with Agitate
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