stirring

to move one's hand or an implement continuously or repeatedly through (a liquid or other substance) in order to cool, mix, agitate, dissolve, etc., any or all of the component parts: to stir one's coffee with a spoon.

to set in tremulous, fluttering, or irregular motion: A soft breeze stirred the leaves.

to affect strongly; excite: to stir pity; to stir one's heart.

to incite, instigate, or prompt (usually followed by up ): to stir up a people to rebellion.

to move briskly; bestir: to stir oneself.

to move, especially in a slight way: He would not stir a finger to help them.

to rouse from inactivity, quiet, contentment, indifference, etc. (usually followed by up ): to stir up his potential.

to bring up for notice or discussion.

to disturb; trouble.

verb (used without object)

10.

to move, especially slightly or lightly: Not a leaf stirred.

11.

to move around, especially briskly; be active: Everyone in the house was stirring.

12.

to become active, as from some rousing or quickening impulse.

13.

to be emotionally moved or strongly affected.

14.

to be in circulation, current, or afoot: Is there any news stirring?

noun

15.

the act of stirring or moving.

16.

the sound made by stirring or moving slightly.

17.

a state or occasion of general excitement; commotion: The news created a stir.

18.

a mental impulse, sensation, or feeling: a stir of hope.

19.

a jog, poke, or thrust: He gave the refuse a stir with his foot.

20.

movement, especially brisk and busy movement: There was too much clamor and stir for her.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English stiren (v.), Old English styrian; cognate with German stören; akin to Old Norse styrr disturbance; see storm

Related forms

stir·ra·ble, adjective

stir·less, adjective

stir·less·ly, adverb

un·stir·ra·ble, adjective

un·stirred, adjective

well-stirred, adjective

Synonyms
1. disturb. 4. rouse, foment, arouse, provoke, stimulate, goad, spur. 17. fuss, pother, agitation, disorder, uproar. See ado. 20. bustle,

Antonyms
17. quiet.

Link To stirring

Collins

World English Dictionary

stir¹ (stɜː)

—vb (often foll by from) (when tr, foll by up) , stirs, stirring, stirred
1.	to move an implement such as a spoon around in (a liquid) so as to mix up the constituents: she stirred the porridge
2.	to change or cause to change position; disturb or be disturbed: he stirred in his sleep
3.	to venture or depart (from one's usual or preferred place): he won't stir from the fireside
4.	(intr) to be active after a rest; be up and about
5.	(tr) to excite or stimulate, esp emotionally
6.	to move (oneself) briskly or vigorously; exert (oneself)
7.	(tr) to rouse or awaken: to stir someone from sleep; to stir memories
8.	informal to cause or incite others to cause (trouble, arguments, etc)
9.	informal stir one's stumps to move or become active

—n
10.	the act or an instance of stirring or the state of being stirred
11.	a strong reaction, esp of excitement: his publication caused a stir
12.	a slight movement
13.	informal (NZ) a noisy party

[Old English styrian; related to Middle High German stürn to poke, stir, Norwegian styrja to cause a commotion; see storm, sturgeon]

'stirrable¹

—*adj*

stir² (stɜː)

—n
	a slang word for prison : in stir

[C19: perhaps from Romany stariben prison]

stirring (ˈstɜːrɪŋ)

—*adj*
1.	exciting the emotions; stimulating
2.	active, lively, or busy

'stirringly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

stir

O.E. styrian, from P.Gmc. *sturjanan (cf. M.Du. stoeren, Du. storen "to disturb," O.H.G. storan "to scatter, destroy," Ger. stören "to disturb"), probably from the root of storm (q.v.). The noun sense of "commotion, disturbance, tumult" (late 14c., in phrase on steir)

is probably from O.N. styrr "disturbance, tumult" (see storm), from the same P.Gmc. root; the sense of "movement, bustle" is probably from the Eng. verb. Stir-fry (v.) is attested from 1959.

Slang Dictionary

stir definition

n.
prison. (Underworld.) : I can't stand being in stir!

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Example sentences

Even more important, stirring the pot this way has kept the organization moving

and searching.

Set over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly to

dissolve sugar.

However, insecurity is stirring up races for state governorships.

Combine shrimp paste with two tablespoons of the hot curry mixture and return

to saucepan, stirring to combine.

Use Dictionary.com faster without ads >>

brose dasher dolly eggdrop soup enrage heady

Matching Quote

"She had never known before how much the country meant to her. The chirping of the insects in the long grass had been like the sweetest music. She had felt as if her heart were hiding down there, somewhere, with the quail and the plover and all the little wild things that crooned or buzzed in the sun. Under the long shaggy ridges, she felt the future stirring."

-Willa Cather