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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | infuriate; make worse |
| Synonyms: | add insult to injury, aggravate, annoy, egg on, embitter, enrage, envenom, exasperate, excite, fan the flames, feed the fire, go from bad to worse, heat up, heighten, hit on, increase, inflame, intensify, irritate, madden, provoke, push one's button, rattle one's cage, rub salt in a wound, vex, worsen |
| Notes: | to aggravate is to make something worse, while to exacerbate is to increase something's bitterness or harshness |
| Antonyms: | aid, calm, comfort, help, soothe |
| Main Entry: | importune |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | demand, insist |
| Synonyms: | appeal, ask, badger, beg, beseech, beset, besiege, con*, crave, dun, egg on, entreat, goose, harass, hound, implore, invoke, nag, persuade, pester, plague, plead, pray, press, sell, solicit, supplicate, urge, work on |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | incense |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make very angry |
| Synonyms: | anger, ask for it, bother, disgust, egg on, enrage, exasperate, excite, fire up, get a rise out of, get under one's skin, inflame, infuriate, ire, irritate, mad, madden, make blood boil, make see red, provoke, rile, umbrage |
| Antonyms: | calm, comfort, please |
| Main Entry: | incite |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | encourage, provoke |
| Synonyms: | abet, activate, actuate, agitate, animate, arouse, coax, craze, drive, egg on, encourage, excite, exhort, fan the fire, foment, force, forward, further, get to, goad, impel, induce, inflame, influence, inspire, inspirit, instigate, juice*, key up, motivate, persuade, prick, promote, prompt, provoke, psych, push, put up to, raise, rouse, set, set off, solicit, spur, stimulate, stir up, talk into, taunt, trigger, urge, whip up, work up |
| Notes: | incite means to provoke or stir up while insight means clear or deep perception of a situation |
| Antonyms: | delay, deter, discourage, prohibit |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | instigate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | influence, provoke |
| Synonyms: | abet, actuate, add fuel, bring about, egg on, encourage, fire up, foment, goad, hint, impel, incite, inflame, initiate, insinuate, kindle, make waves, move, needle, persuade, plan, plot, prompt, put up to, rabble-rouse, raise, rouse, scheme, set on, spur, start, steam up, stimulate, stir up, suggest, turn on, urge, whip up, work up |
| Antonyms: | halt, prevent, stop |
| Main Entry: | inveigle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | entice, manipulate |
| Synonyms: | allure, bait, bamboozle, beguile, blandish, butter, cajole, charm, coax, con*, decoy, egg on, ensnare, entrap, get around, honey*, hook, influence, jolly, lay it on thick, lead on, lure, maneuver, massage, oil, overdo it, persuade, play up to, rope in, seduce, snow*, soap, soften up, string along, stroke*, sweet talk, tempt, toll, urge, wheedle, work over |
| Antonyms: | disenchant, disgust, turn off |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | kindle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | excite, incite |
| Synonyms: | agitate, animate, arouse, awaken, bestir, burn up, challenge, egg on, enkindle, exasperate, fire up, foment, get smoking, induce, inflame, inspire, key up, provoke, rally, rouse, sharpen, stimulate, stir, thrill, turn on, wake, waken, whet, work up |
| Antonyms: | disenchant, turn off |
| Main Entry: | motivate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | stimulate, instigate |
| Synonyms: | actuate, arouse, bring, cause, dispose, draw, drive, egg on, excite, fire, galvanize, give incentive, goad, goose, impel, incite, incline, induce, innervate, innerve, inspire, inspirit, lead, move, persuade, pique, predetermine, predispose, prevail upon, prompt, propel, provoke, quicken, rouse, set afoot, set astir, sound, spark, spur, suggest, sway, touch off, trigger, whet |
| Antonyms: | depress, disconcert, discourage, dissuade |
| Main Entry: | pique |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | offend, provoke |
| Synonyms: | absorb, affront, annoy, arouse, bother, bug*, displease, egg on, exasperate, excite, fire up, gall, galvanize, get a rise out of, get under skin, get*, give a hard time, give the business, goad, goose, grab, ignite, incense, irk, irritate, kindle, make waves, miff, mortify, motivate, move, nettle, offend, peeve, prick, put out, quicken, rile, rouse, spur, stimulate, sting*, stir, vex, whet, work up, wound |
| Notes: | peak means 'maximize,' peek means 'to peep or snoop,' and pique means 'to excite or irritate' |
| Antonyms: | delight, please |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
