agitate

Torres captured the broader institutional despair bluntly when he admitted he lacked confidence in regulators but felt there was “no choice but to agitate for accountability.”

From Salon ● May 9, 2026

They are notorious goons, despised virtually everywhere for their ability to agitate, aggrieve and annoy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

Other practical tips include not screaming, flapping your arms or swatting at wasps, as this will agitate them and make them more aggressive.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2025

Some food and beverage workers, many who worked alongside the unionized hospitality workers employed by Hotel Figueroa, started to agitate to also form a union and gain similar rights.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2024

Its aim was to agitate for a national constitutional convention for all South Africans.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

And this is kind of a shame, because the story agitates the brain far more than it does the stomach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025

Conversely, when researchers injected the rats with a substance that agitates the immune system, the inflammatory cytokine levels rapidly shot up.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2024

Tinseltown, it seems, is in the midst of an AI boom — even as its creative class agitates for limits on how that technology gets deployed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2023

That’s why worry agitates us, persistently or even relentlessly, because it exists to engage us in dealing with future uncertainties and working to make things turn out all right.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2023

Anger agitates, while whistling melts a bee’s temper.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

She also pulled his duvet off without any warning, causing him to become distressed and agitated.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

We have agitated for paid parental leave, universal childcare, better public schools, child allowances, and other help for struggling parents.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

After an agitated week, it felt like a proper, pleasant ending.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

They know their cognition will continue to fade, and they might live for years in an agitated, delusional state where they’ll need round-the-clock care from people they don’t recognize.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

Ruffin and Fuller jogged along the line of agitated protesters ensuring that the march didn't turn into a melee.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

“We do not know the answer, but we have seen them take this approach in other situations when agitating for change,” Moskow said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

His agitating and manipulation, which he would later concede was primarily staged, drove a wedge between Montag and the show’s star Lauren Conrad.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Landlocked Ethiopia, home to around 130 million people and one of Africa’s strongest economies, has been agitating for sea access.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

Buck Turgidson, one of the film’s most memorable characters, while agitating the president in the war room for a first strike against the Soviet Union.

From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2026

Her scalp tingled, as if the thoughts in her brain were agitating to get out: a statue...Athena...Greek and Roman, her nightmares, and her argument with her mom.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan