agitate

You’re not going to get what you want in life unless you advocate — agitate — for it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

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

Black civil rights leaders continued to agitate, but the apartheid machinery ground on unheeding.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

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

When you start to feel grounded in your decision not to engage, you might find it interesting to get to know your mom a little better — and to figure out what agitates her so.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2022

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

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

Two short video clips were shown to the court, with Jones describing Mogan as being in an "agitated and angry state".

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The assailant still appears agitated, and the teacher, an older man, continues to stand between the two and shouts “stop” and “calm down” at the agitated student.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

He turned around, looking both tense and agitated, and pulled out the straight chair at his mother’s writing table and sat down.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger

“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

Wilson has been agitating for a board overhaul, and The Wall Street Journal has reported that Elliott was looking to help the retailer find a new leader.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 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

“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