to stir up
48
4.8
- phrasal verb
- /stɜr ʌp/
:
provocar
- The politician's speech was designed to stir up anger among the crowd.
- stir up trouble
- stir up controversy
- stir up fears
And it's it's to stir up that divisiveness.
- And it's it's to stir up that divisiveness.
- Yeah, the headlines sharing a title like that just stirs up that kind of angst, for sure.
- I think it was to combat genuine forms of stirring up racial hatred.
- Andrew Tate has said some things provocatively and probably intentionally to stir up controversy.
- What matters is that ultimately this sort of drama that Elon is stirring up is probably not without forethought.
- We are all familiar with what can happen when a leader uses fear and false promise to stir up the worst in the community.
- Yes, it is now criminal to insult someone in Scotland, at least if it might quote stir up hatred.
- One of the new terms is rage farming, which means intentionally provoking a political opponent to stir up outrage.
- And like an actor, he has to prepare his stage and use props and, and, you know, things as, you know, visual cues to stir up the audience.
- I am so ready to just stir up the pot with you guys.
- It'll just be more stirring up whatever other things, right?
- And the more it's going to stir up more things and eventually inspiration.
- And I, there was a lot that was stirring up for him at that time because of emancipation.
Examples
-
What matters is that ultimately this sort of drama that Elon is stirring up is probably not without forethought.
-
We are all familiar with what can happen when a leader uses fear and false promise to stir up the worst in the community.
-
And these questions are to stir up their emotional pain.
-
Then I went on the test drive and boy did that ever stir up some different emotions.
-
In other parts of the country, the election issue did not stir up as much controversy.
Academic text (1994) -
With the reformers starting to stir up the American public, there was no time to waste.
Academic text (1998) -
But regardless of how it happens, clearly Trump's goal here is to stir up fears about fraud.
-
Perhaps there is no good way to engineer changes of this magnitude without stirring up considerable controversy.
Academic text (2003) -
Some are deterred by the risk of stirring up a divisive national debate.
Academic text (2003) -
Andrew Tate has said some things provocatively and probably intentionally to stir up controversy.
Synonyms
131
3.1
To cause something to start or happen
131
3.7
To make someone feel a strong emotion
115
3.7
Cause a reaction or feeling
72
7.7
To push people to do violent or illegal acts
70
4.1
Make people feel excited and ready to act
47
4.4
To cause strong feelings in someone
42
4.8
To make people feel strongly excited or upset
36
6.9
To cause something bad to start
31
5.8
To make people's feelings stronger, especially anger or hate
21
8.4
To cause people to start trouble or violence
20
5.3
Do or say something that causes trouble and upsets other people
9
7.2
Upset people by challenging usual views
8
8.0
To cause trouble by saying things to make people argue
8
6.8
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
8
7.2
To make an argument or feeling worse by encouraging it
6
4.0
Make people feel excited or upset and attract attention
5
5.3
To cause fights or problems between people on purpose
4
5.8
Make many people very angry
2
6.4
Complain loudly about something small
1
7.0
To cause many people to show strong public anger or criticism
1
7.4
Make people more angry and cause conflict between groups
1
7.9
To make someone angry or upset
1
9.1
To make someone angry
1
9.9
To say or do things to make others angry and start fights
1
7.7
To make many people feel angry or shocked about something
1
5.4
Cause strong arguments about a topic, often on public issues
To say or do things that cause arguments and make people angry
To cause trouble between people to get attention
To say or do something that causes strong reactions and confusion among people
To cause a lot of trouble and anger among people
To make someone feel strong excitement or deep emotion
To make feelings like anger or excitement stronger
To make food quickly or to cause strong excitement
To disturb people or things
To cause disagreement between people or groups
Antonyms
How Provoking
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'stir' (to arouse or move feelings) plus the particle 'up' (to raise or intensify); together they indicate provoking or increasing strong emotions or trouble. This verb+up compositional pattern is common in English and mirrored in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb stir up comes from the simple picture of stirring a pot: when you stir something up, a calm liquid begins to move, bubble, or rise. So to stir up 'emotions' or 'trouble' means to make feelings or problems start or grow.