stir up
verb/ˈstɜː.ɹʌp/
1
To arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).
- What one man can do himself directly is but little. If however he can stir up ten others to take up the task he has accomplished much.1900 June 1, Wilbur Wright, Letter to Octave Chanute:
- All those wretched quarrels, in his humble opinion, stirring up bad blood, from some bump of combativeness or gland of some kind, erroneously supposed to be about a punctilio of honour and a flag […]Episode 16
1 more example
- These women are experts at flattery, cajolery and sexual excitation, and also possess unusual talents for stirring up quarrels, stimulating jealousies and spreading slander and malicious rumors.1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 79:
2
To mix (ingredients) by stirring.
3
To move or disturb slightly; to make turbid.
- Synonyms
- incite
- Derived terms
- stir up a hornets' nest