instigating 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of instigatingnext
as in provocative
serving or likely to arouse a strong reaction an artist who deliberately creates instigating works of art that are sure to arouse controversy

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

instigating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of instigate
1
as in provoking
to bring (something volatile or intense) into being the medical breakthrough instigated a whole new field of therapy

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in encouraging
to rouse to strong feeling or action the charge that the scene in the movie had instigated teenagers to commit similar acts of vandalism

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for instigating
  1. provocative
  2. provoking
  3. encouraging
  4. charged
  5. promoting
  6. stimulating
  7. raising
Adjective
  • Sign up for the Race/Related Newsletter Join a deep and provocative exploration of race, identity and society with New York Times journalists.
    Catherine Porter, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Watch on Deadline The elder Le Pen was known for his brash, charismatic speeches and provocative and incendiary opinions on immigration, the European Union, culture and traditionalism, and religion, especially around faiths such as Islam and Judaism.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of provocative
Verb
  • This will deepen the divide between the global North and South on issues of race and cultural difference, straining the West’s diplomatic relations with countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America while provoking broader resentment toward Western countries seen as perpetuating racial hierarchies.
    Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
  • In 2008, the United States suggested that Georgia and Ukraine might eventually join the alliance but offered no concrete path to membership, thus provoking Russia without effectively deterring it.
    Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of provoking
Verb
  • Unfortunately, current leadership isn’t fostering a new narrative or encouraging positive change.
    Jennifer Guzman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2025
  • Of course, there are many who believe the RTO mandates are actually a ruse for reducing headcount by encouraging employees to quit.
    Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
Definition of encouraging
Adjective
  • The ceremony came at a charged moment, coinciding with Columbia University canceling its graduation ceremony (and largely closing off its campus).
    David Matthews, New York Daily News, 6 May 2024
  • Of course, genocide is a charged and redolent term, recalling the systematic precision of the Holocaust and the society-wide butchery of the Rwandan genocide.
    Kristina Hook, Foreign Affairs, 28 July 2022
Definition of charged
Verb
  • The simple and accessible name is helping the brand and its followers create a one-of-a-kind community on all social media platforms, empowering innovative voices to join together in promoting hair health online.
    Kaitlyn Gomez, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Meanwhile Russia is promoting drone awareness in children in other ways, down to children’s cartoons in which characters use their videogame skills to pilot drones delivering toys.
    David Hambling, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of promoting
Verb
  • But at the time, the theory that providing children with stimulating activities would help them more than rote learning and academic drills was revolutionary.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Jan. 2025
  • For only the second time in at least a decade, top leaders last month made stimulating spending and domestic demand their top priority in 2025.
    Amanda Gerut, Fortune Asia, 3 Jan. 2025
Definition of stimulating
Verb
  • The year also began with a strong El Niño event, which occurs when the ocean in the Eastern Pacific releases large amounts of heat to the atmosphere, raising global temperatures.
    Lauren Sommer, NPR, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Sinema spent around $8,000 on travel expenses in the Boston area in the days surrounding the marathon this spring, but has reported raising just one dollar since March, according to CREW’s complaint.
    Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of raising
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near instigating

instigates

instigating

instigation

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Cite this Entry

“Instigating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instigating. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on instigating

Nglish: Translation of instigating for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of instigating for Arabic Speakers

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