Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of stir up

53 similar words

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

Synonyms and similar words for stir up

verbTo arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).

  • instigate
  • provokeTo bring about a reaction.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • promptTo initiate; to cause or lead to.
  • 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.
  • 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 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.).

verbTo mix (ingredients) by stirring.

verbTo move or disturb slightly; to make turbid.

  • agitateTo disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person).
  • muddle
  • roilTo render turbid by stirring up the dregs or sediment of.
  • troubleTo disturb, stir up, agitate (a medium, especially water).

Meaning of stir up

  1. verb To arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).
  2. verb To mix (ingredients) by stirring.
  3. verb To move or disturb slightly; to make turbid.

Full definition of stir up

stir up in other languages

Questions about synonyms of stir up

What is another word for stir up?
Stir up has 53 synonyms on Word.ws, such as encourage, push, stimulate, urge, motivate, promote, spur and induce.
What does stir up mean?
Stir up means to arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).

Source and license

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