Incite Meaning
/ɪnˈsaɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo call into action.
verbTo entreat an act.
Sentence Examples
The speaker tried to incite the people to rebellion.
He however says the government will not condone pronouncements that incite violence and chaos.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry speech was meant to ____ the crowd to violent protest against the government.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The speaker was accused of trying to ____ a violent riot with his angry and hateful speech.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Human rights groups blame the anti-Rohingya propaganda for inciting murders, rapes and the largest forced human migration in recent history."
— 2018 October 15, Paul Mozur, “A Genocide Incited on Facebook, With Posts From Myanmar’s Military”, in The New York Times:
"Who and what exactly incited Amir?"
— 2019 April 12, Roger Cohen, “The Incitement in Israel That Killed Yitzhak Rabin”, in The New York Times:
"President Trump has seized on the response in the streets to police brutality against Black men and women to bolster his re-election campaign, employing provocative and sometimes incendiary language and images to incite his followers, demonize his opponents or both."
— 2020 January 9, Peter Baker, “Trump has a long history of language that incites and demonizes.”, in The New York Times:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry speech was meant to ____ the crowd to violent protest against the government.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The speaker was accused of trying to ____ a violent riot with his angry and hateful speech.