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to incite

to incite

72 7.7
To push people to do violent or illegal acts
  • verb
  • /ɪnˈsaɪt/
  • NSFW
translation icon : incitar a
  • The police warned that certain individuals were attempting to incite violence at the rally.
  • incite violence
  • incite a riot
  • incite civil unrest

And it is likely to incite imminent action.

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Examples

  • Maybe not the best idea to incite violence right in front of the sheriff.

  • They are trying to incite revolt.

  • So this private radio began to incite people to kill him.

  • We are going to incite a revolution against you.

  • Any minute now, I could incite another riot.

  • So now he just got charged for inciting a riot.

  • These are programs that are used to incite fear, panic people, make them feel helpless.

  • Tried and convicted of the serious crime of leading a mob and inciting to riot.

  • So once again today, the Democrats focused on how Donald Trump incited the riots.

  • Zarqawi's next stroke of evil cunning was to incite a Shia-Sunni civil war.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

to prompt
vsto incite
217 3.6

Make someone do or say something

is stronger, aimed at pushing people toward harmful or illegal acts rather than simple reminders
to set off
vsto incite
131 3.1

To cause something to start or happen

is more about urging people into harmful acts rather than merely triggering events
to set
vsto incite
  • NSFW
118 8.2

To make an animal or person attack someone

is broader, pushing harmful acts generally rather than only starting attacks
to provoke
vsto incite
115 3.7

Cause a reaction or feeling

is stronger, urging harmful or illegal behavior rather than merely causing reactions
to induce
vsto incite
51 4.9

Persuade someone to do something

is more specifically about pushing people toward harmful or illegal acts rather than any persuasion
to stir up
vsto incite
48 4.8

To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear

is more focused on encouraging actual harmful or illegal action, not only emotions
to ignite
vsto incite
47 4.4

To cause strong feelings in someone

is more about encouraging harmful or illegal acts rather than simply arousing feelings
to instigate
vsto incite
36 6.9

To cause something bad to start

is focused on urging harmful or illegal acts, not only starting events
to inflame
vsto incite
31 5.8

To make people's feelings stronger, especially anger or hate

is more about pushing people toward harmful or illegal acts rather than only feelings
to foment
vsto incite
  • Formal
21 8.4

To cause people to start trouble or violence

is more direct, urging people to commit harmful or illegal acts
to egg on
vsto incite
  • Informal
12 6.6

To urge someone to do something, often something unwise

is similar but emphasizes encouraging harmful or illegal acts specifically
to fan the flames
vsto incite
  • Informal
8 7.2

To make an argument or feeling worse by encouraging it

is more directly about urging harmful action, not only intensifying disputes or feelings
to stir the pot
vsto incite
  • Informal
8 8.0

To cause trouble by saying things to make people argue

is broader, used to push people toward harmful acts rather than only cause controversy
to prod
vsto incite
8 3.6

To push someone a little to make them start doing something

is stronger, pushing people into harmful or illegal acts rather than gentle reminders
to get a rise out of
vsto incite
  • Informal
8 6.8

Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them

is different, aiming to push harmful or illegal actions rather than just annoyance
to solicit
vsto incite
  • NSFW
7 7.7

Urge someone to do something illegal

is broader, encouraging harmful or illegal action beyond formal requests
to stir trouble
vsto incite
  • Informal
5 5.3

To cause fights or problems between people on purpose

is more about urging harmful or illegal acts rather than only causing disorder
to inflame tensions
vsto incite
  • Literature
1 7.4

Make people more angry and cause conflict between groups

is aimed at urging people into harmful acts rather than only worsening situations
to inflame public opinion
vsto incite
  • Literature
1 7.7

To make many people feel angry or shocked about something

is more about urging harmful or illegal actions rather than just arousing public anger
to actuate
vsto incite
7.0

To make someone act because of a feeling or reason

is specifically about urging harmful or illegal action, not general motivation
to shit-stir
vsto incite
  • Offensive
9.9

To say or do things that cause arguments and make people angry

is similar but more formal and focused on encouraging harmful acts broadly

Antonyms

35 6.0

To try to stop someone from doing something by talking to them

How Strong

to instigate
36 6.9
to incite
  • NSFW
72 7.7
to urge
591 3.2
to encourage
2.3
to suggest
1.6

Surface Forms

incite infinitive
incited past
incited past participle
inciting present participle
incites third person singular

Morphology

incite = cite (opaque) = in + cite

Although historically formed from in- + cite, modern 'cite' means 'quote', so learners cannot derive 'incite' = 'encourage or provoke' from 'cite'.

Etymology

The word incite comes from Latin parts in- 'into' and citare 'to move or stir up', and it shares the same root as excite. So, to incite someone is to 'push' or 'stir' them into action, often to do something harmful.