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Instigate: meaning, example and synonyms

Instigatev. To deliberately start or provoke an action, often a harmful one.

Flashcard for Instigate (verb): to deliberately start or provoke an action, often a harmful one. Example: Historians debate whether the pamphlets instigated the riots or merely gave voice to anger that had been building for years. Synonyms: provoke, incite, initiate, foment. Antonyms: suppress, quell, halt, prevent. Memory tip: In-STIG-ate: someone stings others into action. Illustration: a man in a long coat standing on a wooden crate in a cobblestone square, gesturing urgently to a gathering crowd of fully clothed townspeople.

Example

Historians debate whether the pamphlets instigated the riots or merely gave voice to anger that had been building for years.

Part of speech
verb
Synonyms
provoke, incite, initiate, foment
Antonyms
suppress, quell, halt, prevent
Memory tip
In-STIG-ate: someone stings others into action.

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Check yourself: Instigate in context

Pick the word that best completes each text.

Question 1

Records show that a single land agent ______ the boundary dispute by quietly redrawing the survey lines, then profited from the lawsuits that followed.

Question 2

The board decided to ______ a full review of safety procedures after an inspector discovered that alarms on two floors had been disconnected.

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