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

Little things are starting to agitate me every day.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025

The city also is looking at installing a 6- to 8-foot-tall fence along the river to address complaints that the passing bikers will agitate the dogs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2023

I would agitate against the bemused person who was attempting to help me upward, that is.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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

This clear tank agitates a gallon of water at a gentle 18 revolutions per minute for 30 minutes.

From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2019

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

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

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

Hundreds of people crammed into the school gym that April evening, and the debate over Point Reyes agitated into a low boil.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 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

“Do you say she makes a good living out of stories like this?” and Jo looked more respectfully at the agitated group and thickly sprinkled exclamation points that adorned the page.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

“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

The stakes to find McDonald’s successor escalated in recent months when Lululemon’s estranged founder and an activist investor began agitating for the company to turn things around faster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 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

Chile, you need to quit your agitating ’fore you ends up shackled too.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis