Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of incite

48 similar words · 11 opposite words

Another word for incite is encourage. Other synonyms of incite are push, motive, stimulate, urge and motivate. The opposite of incite is dissuade.

Synonyms and similar words for incite

verbMore synonyms

  • actuateTo incite to action; to motivate.
  • goose
  • fuel
  • light a fire underTo motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.
  • send
  • sting
  • bring aboutTo cause to take place.
  • drawTo attract or provoke (a particular reaction or response) from someone.
  • driveTo motivate; to provide an incentive for.
  • encourageTo mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
  • egg onTo encourage or coax (a person) to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless.
  • engenderTo bring into existence (a situation, quality, result etc.); to give rise to, cause, create.
  • evokeTo elicit a response.
  • exciteTo arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
  • fomentTo incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.
  • goadTo incite or provoke.
  • ignite figurativelyTo spark off (something), to trigger.
  • impelTo urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation.
  • induceTo cause, bring about, lead to.
  • inflame figurativelyTo excite or intensify (a feeling, such as an appetite or passion), especially to an excessive or unnatural level.
  • instigateTo goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions.
  • invokeTo bring about as an inevitable consequence.
  • lash
  • motiveTo prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
  • motivateTo provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate.
  • obligate
  • oblige
  • pushTo continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
  • promoteTo encourage, urge or incite.
  • promptTo initiate; to cause or lead to.
  • provokeTo bring about a reaction.
  • rouseTo provoke (someone) to react (for example, in anger or annoyance); to spur; also, to annoy, to tease.
  • set offTo begin; to cause; to initiate.
  • spark offTo initiate something by providing the necessary conditions.
  • spurTo urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object.
  • spur onTo spur or urge (someone) to do something.
  • stimulateTo encourage into action.
  • stirTo incite to action.
  • stir upTo arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).
  • stoke figuratively
  • temptTo provoke something; to court.
  • urgeTo put mental pressure on; to ply with motives, arguments, persuasion, or importunity.
  • whip upTo arouse or excite.
  • abet obsoleteTo urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
  • cheer obsoleteTo encourage to do something.
  • grill Scotland, USTo make angry; provoke; offend, incite.
  • move obsoleteTo incite, urge (someone to do something); to solicit (someone for or of an issue); to make a proposal to.
  • whet obsoleteTo inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).

Opposite of incite

verbMore antonyms

Meaning of incite

  1. verb To call into action.
  2. verb To entreat an act.
  3. verb To instigate a specific incident.

Full definition of incite

incite in other languages

Questions about synonyms of incite

What is another word for incite?
Incite has 48 synonyms on Word.ws, such as encourage, push, motive, stimulate, urge, motivate, promote and spur.
What is the opposite of incite?
The opposite of incite is dissuade. Other antonyms of incite are stop.
What does incite mean?
Incite means to call into action.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: incite (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of incite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/incite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.