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

After a decadent lunch of goose sandwiches and chocolate pudding, Emma began to agitate for the older kids to go swimming.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

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

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

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

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

Wilby told the court he had hoped to continue their previous conversation about the constituent on the Tube, but claimed Creasy "became quite agitated" and that he was "quite shocked by her reaction".

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

After an agitated week, it felt like a proper, pleasant ending.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

He became agitated, then he shouted that it was time I moved out.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

“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

Internally, he began agitating to offer a more fair deal to the firm’s investors amid all the losses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 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

I felt a burning glow mount to my face; for bitter and agitating recollections were awakened by the allusion to marriage.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë