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stir

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To disturb the relative position of the particles by passing an object through it.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

stur
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈstɝ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.

  2. transitive

    To disturb the content of (a container) by passing an object through it.

  3. transitive

    To emotionally affect; to touch, to move.

  4. Summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic

  5. transitive

    To bring into debate; to agitate.

  6. To begin moving

    “As the thunder started the sleeping children began to stir.”

noun

  1. The act or result of stirring (moving around the particles of a liquid etc.)

  2. Emotional agitation and excitement

  3. Agitation; tumult; bustle; noise or various movements.

  4. Agitation of thoughts; conflicting passions.

  5. Public disturbance or commotion; tumultuous disorder; seditious uproar.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.

Used this way, stir is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use stir

  • “As the thunder started the sleeping children began to stir.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

stir wellgreat stirstir togethergradually stir

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • stirringnounInflected form

    Agitating a liquid with an implement.

  • stirredadjectiveInflected form

    Being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • stir upverbCompound term

    Try to stir up public opinion.

  • stir fryverbCompound term

    Fry very quickly over high heat.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to disturb the relative position of the particles (of a liquid

touchagitate

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.