instigate

/ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/

instigate verb: to bring about by urging or encouraging.

Verb

instigate (third-person singular simple present instigates, present participle instigating, simple past and past participle instigated)

(transitive) To bring about by urging or encouraging.
- to instigate a riot
- to instigate a change
Synonyms:

foment, provoke
(transitive) To goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions.
- to instigate someone to a crime
- he might instigate them to swear against the law of God1678, Robert Barclay, An Apology for the True Christian Divinity
Synonyms:

animate, encourage, impel, incite, provoke, spur, stimulate, tempt, urge

Antonyms:

halt, prevent, stop

instigate meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam

instigate in Tamil

எதிராகக்கிளப்பு, தூண்டிவிடு, தூண்டு, உசுப்பு

instigate in Urdu

آمادہ کرنا, برپا کرنا, کہنا, پھونکنا, پیٹھ ٹھونکنا, شہ دینا

instigate in Bengali

প্ররোচিত করা, উস্কে দেওয়া

instigate in Malayalam

to instigate: പ്രേരിപ്പിക്കുക prērippikkuka

More languagesFewer languages

instigate in Kannada: ಪ್ರೇರಿಸು, ಪ್ರಚೋದಿಸು, ಪುಸಲಾಯಿಸು, ಚಿತಾವಣೆ ಮಾಡು
instigate in Odia: ଶିଖାଇବା śikhāibā
instigate in Pashto: لمسول ləmsəwəl
instigate in Arabic: حَرَّضَ ḥarraḍa, دَفَعَ dafaʕa
instigate in Thai: ยุยง yú-yong

Examples of instigate in a sentence

In light of growing outrage against Mecham, House special counsel William French instigated an investigation into the governor's affairs last fall.1988 February 14, Elizabeth Pincus, “Arizona Impeaches Right-Wing Governor”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 30, page 1:
He hath only instigated his blackest agents to the very extent of their malignity.1738–1741, William Warburton, The Divine Legation of Moses […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II.1, or II.2), London: […] Fletcher...

All 18 example sentences with instigate

Synonyms of instigate

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of instigate

Forms of instigate

third-person singular present	instigates
present participle	instigating
past participle	instigated
past	instigated

Past tense of instigate: instigated

Origin of instigate

Borrowed from Latin īnstīgātus, perfect passive participle of īnstīgō (“to instigate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Words formed from instigate

Questions about instigate

What does instigate mean?: Instigate means to bring about by urging or encouraging.
What is instigate in Tamil?: Instigate in Tamil is எதிராகக்கிளப்பு, தூண்டிவிடு, தூண்டு. See Instigate meaning in Tamil.
How do you use instigate in a sentence?: In light of growing outrage against Mecham, House special counsel William French instigated an investigation into the governor's affairs last fall.
What part of speech is instigate?: Instigate is a verb.
How do you pronounce instigate?: Instigate is pronounced /ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/.
What is the past tense of instigate?: The past tense of instigate is instigated.

Words near instigate in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: instigate (page history and authors); instigate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); instigate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); instigate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); പ്രേരിപ്പിക്കുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); instigate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ଶିଖାଇବା (Odia) (page history and authors); لمسول (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-instigate.ogg.

Cite this entry: “instigate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/instigate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.