Sample sentences for INSTIGATE

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Definition

start or set into motion — typically some kind of conflict

The group is accused of instigating the violence in the area.

instigating = starting something or causing it to happen

She does not think the current leadership will instigate significant social reform.

instigate = start something or take actions that cause it to happen

When the second demo was finished, Alan instigated high-fives all around, and the young people laughed at his enthusiasm.
Dave Eggers -- A Hologram for the King

instigated = started or caused something to happen

Known as "the Butcher" and "the Quack," Kitamura was Ofuna's most eager instigator of beatings.
Laura Hillenbrand -- Unbroken

instigator = someone who starts something or causes it to happen

Even so, you could call her the instigator.
Anne Frank -- The Diary of a Young Girl

instigator = person who started something or caused it to happen

What has become of Danglars, the instigator, and therefore the most guilty?
Alexandre Dumas -- The Count of Monte Cristo

instigator = someone who started something or caused it to happen

"I really can see myself going to Oklahoma," Michael said, provoking a frenzy on the Oklahoma football fan Web sites, and instigating a number of calls from Oklahoma coaches.
Michael Lewis -- The Blind Side

instigating = causing something to happen

Oscar Danilo Blandon, the so-called Johnny Appleseed of Crack, may have been the instigator of one ripple effect, in which by his actions a single person inadvertently causes an ocean of despair.
Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner -- Freakonomics

instigator = someone who starts something or causes it to happen

He selects people who know absolutely nothing and instigates chaos through them.
Robert Ludlum -- The Bourne Identity

instigates = starts or sets into motion

at his heels a rabble of his companions, thither provoked and instigated by his distemper,
William Shakespeare -- The Merry Wives of Windsor

instigated = set into motion

Naturally, you can instigate one if finding your father's identity is important to you.
J.D. Robb -- Immortal in Death

instigate = start or take actions that will cause something to happen

Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.
O. Henry -- The Gift of the Magi

instigates = sets into motion

Did instigate the bedlam brainsick Duchess
Shakespeare, William -- King Henry VI, Part 2
Even if you were really criminal, for that can only drive you to desperation, and not instigate you to virtue.
Shelley, Mary -- Frankenstein
Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.
Henry, O. -- The Four Million
She is less of an instigator.
Kiera Cass -- The Elite
An average woman is in this superior to an average man—that she never instigates, only responds.
Thomas Hardy -- Jude the Obscure
From the KGB's perspective, outside instigation is the far more attractive alternative; it makes for a bigger operation.
Tom Clancy -- The Hunt for Red October

(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", converts a verb into a noun that denotes the action or result of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in action, education, and observation.)

Take the whole situation all around, it was one of the gaudiest effects I ever instigated.
Mark Twain -- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Those closest to the instigator seemed to be responding as color and light flowed from them toward him.
William P. Young -- The Shack

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