Definition of INCITE

incite

Verb

Verb Forms: incited, inciting, incites

  • To arouse or stir up to action; to provoke.
  • give an incentive for action
  • provoke or stir up
    • "incite a riot"
  • urge on; cause to act
  • To stir up or excite; to rouse or goad into action.

Examples

  • His daring play of INCITE seemed to incite a flurry of aggressive counter-moves from his opponent.
  • incite people to violence
  • The judge was told by the accused that his friends had incited him to commit the crime.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle French inciter, from Latin incitō (“to set in motion, hasten, urge, incite”), from in (“in, on”) + citō (“to set in motion, urge”), frequentative of cieō (“to rouse, excite, call”).

Synonyms

actuate, egg on, instigate, motivate, move, prod, prompt, propel, set off, stir up, abet, bring about, cheer, drive, encourage, engender, evoke, excite, foment, goad, grill, ignite, impel, incite, induce, inflame, invoke, lash, motive, obligate, oblige, promote, provoke, push, rouse, send, spark off, spur, spur on, stimulate, sting, stir, stoke, tempt, urge, whet, whip up

Scrabble Score: 8

incite: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
incite: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
incite: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

incite: valid Words With Friends Word