inciting 1 of 2

adjective

as in provocative
serving or likely to arouse a strong reaction a deliberately inciting comment questioning someone's manhood started the brawl

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

inciting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of incite
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in encouraging
to rouse to strong feeling or action the demagogue's fiery rant incited the crowd to riot

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of inciting
Adjective
Morocco arrested multiple people who circulated the inciting statements, Interior Ministry spokesperson Rachid El Khalfi said. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026 Societies throughout history have punished language deemed blasphemous, seditious, inciting or slanderous. — Paul Quigley, The Conversation, 13 July 2026 Not an inciting event for troll armadas to threaten the people involved. — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 2 July 2026 Does the opening episode need an inciting incident within the first few minutes to draw in audiences? — Michael Schneider, Variety, 22 June 2026 Although more research is needed, GLP-1 drugs trigger metabolic pathways that could be important in regulating inflammation, which is known to be an inciting factor in many different cancers. — Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026 What was the setting and the all-important inciting incident? — Literary Hub, 11 June 2026 Of course, the pivotal thing was to create an inciting incident that propels the story without clunky exposition. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 23 May 2026 The inciting moment comes when Austin and Ashley witness a violent argument between Josh and Lindsay. — Ryan Brennan april 16, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
Targeting the wrong group could end up inciting an international incident. — Henry Larson, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026 On August 5, Nelson Mandela was arrested in South Africa for inciting workers to strike, and Marilyn Monroe was found dead at her home in Brentwood, California. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 The same forces that produce earthquakes are also what led gold to form in the Sierra foothills, inciting the state's famous rush. — Rong-Gong Lin Ii Los Angeles Times, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2026 The Church of Scientology has accused Remini of inciting violence against members of the church. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 24 July 2026 That trust begins with one of the most devastating inciting incidents in recent genre memory. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 July 2026 The inciting incident for that arrest was captured on video that TMZ published in March, and showed Paul hurling metal bar stools toward Mortensen. — Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 16 July 2026 The scandal rocked the Cry Babies, prompting some to give the singer a new nickname, Felony Martinez, while inciting the majority to pile in against Timothy and dismiss her story as contemptible lies. — Matt Thompson, SPIN, 13 July 2026 Staff members of the satirical magazine Leman are on trial on charges of inciting hatred over a cartoon published last year that features the Prophet Mohammed and Moses. — ABC News, 2 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inciting
  1. provocative
  2. provoking
  3. encouraging
  4. charged
Adjective
  • Continue reading … ZERO REGRETS – Hasan Piker stands by 'intentionally provocative' claims that Hamas is 'a thousand times better' than Israel.
    — , FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The film’s provocative title comes from a message a niche Californian skatewear company once wove into their clothing line’s care labels as a joke, a sample of which is seen here.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of provocative
Verb
  • But his profound reflections are punctuated by superb slapstick, slyly symbolic sleight-of-hand and, yes, some serious Shakespeare that make for an equally entertaining and thought-provoking hour.
    — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The author warns that humanity's insistence on supremacy could lead to conflict with advanced AI, even provoking existential threats.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of provoking
Verb
  • Talking Animals Books in Grapevine is leading the second annual event, encouraging book lovers to wander beyond Main Street and into the heart of the area's indie literary scene.
    — CBS News Texas Staff, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • This year, for the first time in a decade, the tax code has largely stopped encouraging charitable giving on its own account, which leaves the payout floor no longer one safeguard among several, but the only one left.
    — Vandana Arcot, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of encouraging
Adjective
  • The result is an urgent, propulsive song with a raw spirit and some of Pop’s most super-charged writing with deceptively simple lyrics about love and war, dripping with desperation.
    — Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
  • What Happens Next Greene is likely to continue stoking controversy by breaking with her party, as conversations around immigration remain charged and divisive.
    — Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Definition of charged

Browse Nearby Words

incites
inciting
incivility
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Cite this Entry

“Inciting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inciting. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of inciting for Spanish Speakers

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