Word.ws English Dictionary

instigates

instigates is the third-person singular simple present indicative of instigate.

Meaning of instigate

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To bring about by urging or encouraging.
    • to instigate a riot
    Synonyms:
    foment, provoke
  2. (transitive) To goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions.
    • to instigate someone to a crime
    Antonyms:
    halt, prevent, stop

Questions about instigates

What is instigates the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Instigates is the third-person singular simple present indicative of instigate.

Words near instigates in the dictionary

  1. instigants
  2. instigate
  3. instigated
  4. instigater
  5. instigaters
  6. instigates
  7. instigating
  8. instigatingly
  9. instigation
  10. instigations
  11. instigative

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: instigates (page history and authors); instigate (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.

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