agitate

It might seem strange to look this deeply into the why of Matt Damon as Odysseus, since his casting didn’t agitate right-wing trolls.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

Lai previously told visitors there would be "no surprises" in his national day address, in a bid to reassure them that he would not do anything further to agitate Beijing.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2024

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

“We are serving tea, sir, though calling it chocolate so as not to agitate the sensibilities of Patriots.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

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

“The sight of a wound or scar always agitates and sickens me,” she said.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

“I get a little agitated and the pace is really, really different.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

While Starmer floundered in the polls, Burnham agitated for change.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 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

Martínez-Olguín said she inherited the case because she was already overseeing another lawsuit dealing with the merger — not because Paramount had agitated for a change.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

John Mark seems agitated and distracted as he drives; he doesn’t even turn on the radio.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

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

He pivoted to activist investing for a time, agitating for change at companies including Nordstrom and Bed Bath & Beyond, where he faced allegations—that he denied—of misleading investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Conversations about his goals implicitly involved an assessment of his prospects, which was agitating.

From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025

The lore has it that Trump saw the Bastille Day celebration in France in 2017 and has been agitating for one ever since.

From Salon ● May 28, 2025

“There is a definite agitating element” in antipoverty agencies in Durham, Galifianakis insinuated, and asked the FBI’s assistance in uncovering the “troublemakers.”

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson