agita

noun

ag·​i·​ta ˈa-jə-tə 

: a feeling of agitation or anxiety

Did you know?

Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that agita is simply a shortened version of agitation, but that's not the case. Both agitation and the verb it comes from, agitate, derive from Latin agere, meaning "to drive." Agita, which first appeared in American English in the mid-late 20th century, comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian word acido, meaning "heartburn" or "acid," from Latin acidus. (Agita is also occasionally used in English with the meaning "heartburn.") For a while the word's usage was limited to New York City and surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-1990s.

Synonyms

• agitation
• anxiety
• anxiousness
• apprehension
• apprehensiveness
• care
• concern
• concernment
• disquiet
• disquietude
• fear
• nervosity
• nervousness
• perturbation
• solicitude
• sweat
• unease
• uneasiness
• worry

Examples of agita in a Sentence

took a deep breath to dispel her agita as she stepped onstage

Recent Examples on the Web

Topline Wall Street reacted negatively to Friday’s better-than-expected jobs report, a seemingly contradictory outcome rooted in the prevailing agita surrounding financial markets about interest rates. —Derek Saul, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025

As the delay dragged on, exacerbated by Hollywood’s dual strikes, fans’ agita only increased. —Alison Herman, Variety, 7 Jan. 2025

This one, Washington’s fourth this season, left you feeling agita rather than exulted. —David Aldridge, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024

For all the agita over the lower-than-expected turnout for the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game in 2023, Amazon Prime Video had already sold off the last commercial unit in this year’s production four months ago. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Italian acido, literally, "heartburn, acid entry 1," with spelling reflecting southern Italian laxing of consonants and reduction of final vowel

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

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