as in provocative
serving or likely to arouse a strong reaction
a deliberately inciting comment questioning someone's manhood started the brawl
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in provoking
to bring (something volatile or intense) into being
the rock band's failure to show up incited a riot, as the crowd had waited for hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in encouraging
to rouse to strong feeling or action
the demagogue's fiery rant incited the crowd to riot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of inciting
USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
Tehran’s growing sense of insecurity following Assad’s fall may drive the country’s leadership to escalate activities that destabilize the region, such as efforts to further strengthen allied militias in Iraq and Yemen or inciting sectarian tensions in Syria.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2024
That murder is of her best friend, Safi, akin to how the inciting murder in the first game was Chloe.
—Ryan Easby, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2024
On four, dozens of hot pink streamers and clouds of hot pink smoke surrounded the couple, inciting them to share a loving hug at the reveal.
—Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
The peaceful protests of the Arab Spring in 2011 were met with harsh responses by al-Assad’s government, inciting an uprising across the country.
—Juliann Ventura, The Hill, 7 Dec. 2024
Virgo Competition may arise with coworkers, inciting them to take credit for your ideas.
—Lisa Stardust, People.com, 7 Dec. 2024
Authorities accuse them of inciting attacks against security forces and disturbing public peace.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
He was convicted of inciting a riot at the Lompoc prison in 2003.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024
Verb
Someone else may be inciting your next big move.
—USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
Tehran’s growing sense of insecurity following Assad’s fall may drive the country’s leadership to escalate activities that destabilize the region, such as efforts to further strengthen allied militias in Iraq and Yemen or inciting sectarian tensions in Syria.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Foreign Affairs, 23 Dec. 2024
That murder is of her best friend, Safi, akin to how the inciting murder in the first game was Chloe.
—Ryan Easby, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2024
On four, dozens of hot pink streamers and clouds of hot pink smoke surrounded the couple, inciting them to share a loving hug at the reveal.
—Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
The peaceful protests of the Arab Spring in 2011 were met with harsh responses by al-Assad’s government, inciting an uprising across the country.
—Juliann Ventura, The Hill, 7 Dec. 2024
Virgo Competition may arise with coworkers, inciting them to take credit for your ideas.
—Lisa Stardust, People.com, 7 Dec. 2024
Authorities accuse them of inciting attacks against security forces and disturbing public peace.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
He was convicted of inciting a riot at the Lompoc prison in 2003.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inciting
Adjective
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Trump, on the other hand, has managed to single-handedly achieve results, with just a few provocative words, that have long been the dream of populists around the world seeking to reclaim power from globalists running our Western nations.—
Rachel Marsden,
Hartford Courant,
19 Jan. 2025
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Sign up for the Race/Related Newsletter Join a deep and provocative exploration of race, identity and society with New York Times journalists.—
Erica L. Green,
New York Times,
17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Unfortunately, current leadership isn’t fostering a new narrative or encouraging positive change.—
Jennifer Guzman,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Jan. 2025
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The recent record highs in the S&P 500 were partly driven by optimism that the Federal Reserve would continue cutting interest rates through 2025, making borrowing cheaper and encouraging economic activity.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Verb
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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
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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
Thesaurus Entries Near inciting
Cite this Entry
“Inciting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inciting. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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