Idioms

agitate

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agitate against (someone or something)

To provoke or encourage negative feelings or opinions about someone or something; to protest something. The protesters are agitating against the company's unfair working conditions. The students have had great success agitating against the closure of the dorm, but I don't know that they will be able to change the dean's mind. No, we don't want a shopping mall in our small town, and we will agitate against it until plans are scrapped!
See also: agitate

agitate for (something)

To encourage and build support for a cause, especially by actively campaigning for it. The students have had great success agitating for more social events on campus, but the dean is still opposed to the idea. The protesters are agitating for better working conditions from the company. A: "Are you guys seriously agitating for a shopping mall in our small town?" B: "Yeah, we're sick having to travel 10 miles to the grocery store!"
See also: agitate, for
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

agitate against someone or something

to stir up active dissatisfaction about someone or something. The students were agitating against the closing of the old cafeteria.
See also: agitate

agitate for something

to stir up active support for something. The committee agitated for a change, but nothing was done.
See also: agitate, for
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

agitate against

v.
To stir up public opposition to some cause or issue: The students in front of the administration building were agitating against the increase in tuition.
See also: agitate

agitate for

v.
To stir up public support for some cause or issue: The union decided to agitate for better health insurance.
See also: agitate, for
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
See also:
References in periodicals archive
Addressing mediapersons here, Heptullah said that agitations are part and parcel of democracy and an MP is entitled to agitate.
Heptullah opposes Chatterjee's stand on agitating MPs
The vulcanizing machine includes a mold mechanism such as a lower side mold (5) and an upper side mold (25) and the like, which removably accommodate a green tire (4), an agitating mechanism (30), which agitates a heating pressure medium such as nitrogen gas or the like, which vulcanization molds the green tire (4) by heating the green tire (4) while pressing it against the mold mechanism, and an induction heating mechanism (41), which preferentially heats the agitating mechanism.
Vulcanizing machine
agitates successfully at school to be taught about comparative American cultures, and he pressures his father in order to find out what happened to him in the internment camps, though his father is reluctant to talk about the past.
Mochizuki, Ken. Beacon Hill boys
"The worst thing you can say to an agitated person is `Calm down.' It simply agitates them more.
In practice. (spirituality cafe)
The vertical device is a long shaft with multi-directional arms that agitates material above and below the auger in the weigh hopper.
Colortronic Inc
The fluff is blown into a cyclone mounted atop the fluff surge hopper, which agitates and feeds the ground scrap into the fluff metering hopper below it.
Gravimetrics aid fluff/pellet metering
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