stir

/stər/

/stə/

Other forms: stirred; stirring; stirs

To stir is to mix something up. You can literally stir cake batter with a spoon, or figuratively stir someone's emotions by writing them a heartfelt letter.

You can stir muffin batter with a wooden spoon, and stir in a cup of blueberries. When people stir, they start to move after being still or asleep: "It was only five o'clock, but he could hear the kids start to stir." And when something stirs you, it brings up some emotion: "That music always stirs up my sad memories." Stir shares a root with the Old Norse styrr, "tumult or disturbance."

Definitions of stir

1. verb

   move an implement through
   “stir the soup”

   “stir my drink”

   “stir the soil”

   types:

   churn

   stir (cream) vigorously in order to make butter

   paddle

   stir with a paddle

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
2. verb

   mix or add by stirring
   “Stir nuts into the dough”

   type of:

   work

   move into or onto
3. verb

   move very slightly
   synonyms: agitate, budge, shift

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
4. verb

   begin moving, "As the thunder started the sleeping children began to stir"
   synonyms: arouse

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
5. verb

   stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of
   synonyms: excite, shake, shake up, stimulate

   types:

   fuel

   stimulate

   arouse, excite, sex, turn on, wind up

   stimulate sexually

   affright, fright, frighten, scare

   cause fear in

   thrill, tickle, vibrate

   feel sudden intense sensation or emotion

   invite, tempt

   give rise to a desire by being attractive or inviting

   elate, intoxicate, lift up, pick up, uplift

   fill with high spirits; fill with optimism

   animate, enliven, exalt, inspire, invigorate

   heighten or intensify

   titillate

   stimulate or excite the senses or feelings of

   bluff

   frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is

   awe

   inspire awe in

   terrify, terrorise, terrorize

   fill with terror; frighten greatly

   intimidate

   make timid or fearful

   alarm, appal, appall, dismay, horrify

   fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised

   consternate

   fill with anxiety, dread, dismay, or confusion

   tempt

   try to seduce

   beatify

   make blessedly happy

   puff

   make proud or conceited

   beatify, exalt, exhilarate, inebriate, thrill, tickle pink

   fill with sublime emotion

   encourage

   inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to

   spook

   frighten or scare, and often provoke into a violent action

   type of:

   arouse, elicit, enkindle, evoke, fire, kindle, pique, provoke, raise

   call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
6. verb

   stir feelings in
   “stir emotions”

   synonyms: excite, stimulate

   types:

   horripilate

   cause (someone's) hair to stand on end and to have goosebumps

   work

   provoke or excite

   thrill

   cause to be thrilled by some perceptual input

   quicken, whet

   make keen or more acute

   disgust, gross out, repel, revolt

   fill with distaste

   nauseate, sicken, turn one's stomach

   upset and make nauseated

   type of:

   sensitise, sensitize

   cause to sense; make sensitive
7. verb

   affect emotionally
   “A stirring movie”

   synonyms: touch

   types:

   get

   evoke an emotional response

   type of:

   affect, impress, move, strike

   have an emotional or cognitive impact upon
8. noun

   a rapid active commotion
   synonyms: ado, bustle, flurry, fuss, hustle, hustle and bustle

   type of:

   commotion, din, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, tumult

   the act of making a noisy disturbance
9. noun

   a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event
   synonyms: splash

   type of:

   commotion, disruption, disturbance, flutter, hoo-ha, hoo-hah, hurly burly, kerfuffle, to-do

   a disorderly outburst or tumult
10. noun

    emotional agitation and excitement
    types:

    electricity

    keen and shared excitement

    sensation

    a general feeling of excitement and heightened interest

    type of:

    agitation

    the feeling of being agitated; not calm
11. verb

    summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic
    synonyms: arouse, bring up, call down, call forth, conjure, conjure up, evoke, invoke, put forward, raise

    call forth, evoke, kick up, provoke

    evoke or provoke to appear or occur

    types:

    anathemise, anathemize, bedamn, beshrew, curse, damn, imprecate, maledict

    wish harm upon; invoke evil upon

    bless

    give a benediction to

    anele, anoint, embrocate, inunct, oil

    administer an oil or ointment to ; often in a religious ceremony of blessing

    type of:

    create, make

    make or cause to be or to become