agitate

t. [In Fr. agiter; Sp. & Port. agitar; Lat. agitare; from agito, avi, -atum =to put in frequent or constant motion; freq. from ago = to put in motion.] A. Of things simply material: 1. To move or shake backwards and forwards, or up and down, as water in a ve el may be shaken by the hand, or the ocean or a lake be put in perturbation by the wind. "Winds from all quarters agitate the air, And fit the limpid element for use." Cowper: Task , bk. 1. 2. To cause motion in, as God causes the planets to move in their orbits. By whom each atom stirs, the planets roll: Who fills, surrounds, informs, and agitates the whole." Thomson: Castle of Indolence , cant. ii., 47. B. Of things not simply material: I. Of persons, parties, or communities: Το trouble the mind or heart of an individual or of a community; to create perturbation or excitement in a person or persons. The exciting cause may be an event, an inflammatory speech by a politician, or anything capable of moving the mind or heart. "Then peace and joy again po e 'd Our queen's long agitated breast." Cowper: Annus Mirabilis (1789). ag-i-ta-ting, pr. par. [AGITATE.]