Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of stir

59 similar words

Another word for stir is agitate. Other synonyms of stir are encourage, push, stimulate, urge and motivate.

Synonyms and similar words for stir

verbTo disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object...

  • agitateTo disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person).

verbTo incite to action.

  • arouse
  • instigate
  • promptTo initiate; to cause or lead to.
  • exciteTo arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • incite
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • stir upTo arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).
  • stoke figurativelyTo feed, stir up, especially, a fire or furnace.
  • 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 change place or posture; to go, in any manner, from one place or position to another.
  • whet obsoleteTo inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).

verbTo rise from sleep or unconsciousness.

Meaning of stir

  1. verb To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.
  2. verb To disturb the content of (a container) by passing an object through it.
  3. verb To emotionally affect; to touch, to move.

Full definition of stir

stir in other languages

Questions about synonyms of stir

What is another word for stir?
Stir has 59 synonyms on Word.ws, such as agitate, encourage, push, stimulate, urge, motivate, promote and spur.
What does stir mean?
Stir means to disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: stir (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 stir.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/stir. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.