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

Jackson continued to travel, agitate, protest, but the spotlight had moved on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 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

“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

It’s work that agitates — even crowbars — its way into a heart.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2021

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

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

As the hours passed, the people here grew increasingly agitated about a state response that they said was inadequate and disorganized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

If she threatens to withdraw her affection or becomes agitated or angry, that’s OK too.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026

"They become quite emotional, cry, become agitated, almost can't focus," he says.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

She’s just frustrated that the weather isn’t cooperating with her upcoming outdoor performance and agitated that this might be a bad omen for her big American comeback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

Henry didn’t say anything, and I’m sure that at that moment he would have looked perfectly impassive to anyone who didn’t know him, but I could tell he was quite agitated.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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

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

A pair of activist shareholders are agitating for big changes at travel companies just as spring and summer travel season is about to start.

From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026

The activists’ arrival, and CEO candidate, comes as Lululemon founder Chip Wilson had already been agitating for change and weighing in on the CEO search.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

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