instigate
/ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/verb
instigate is spelled I-N-S-T-I-G-A-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, instigate means “To bring about by urging or encouraging” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in instigate?
| Letters | 9: I-N-S-T-I-G-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,863rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is instigate?
Instigate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce instigate?
- /ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/
Instigate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-instigate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of instigate
- instigates present, singular, he/she/it
- instigating participle, present
- instigated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does instigate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To bring about by urging or encouraging.
to instigate a riot
- 2
To goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions.
to instigate someone to a crime
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Instigate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | instigar, soliviantar |
| French | inciter, susciter |
| German | anstiften, hetzen, anstacheln, anzetteln |
| Portuguese | instigar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does instigate come from?
Borrowed from Latin īnstīgātus, perfect passive participle of īnstīgō (“to instigate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).