Library / English Dictionary

STIR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: stirred    , stirring   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A rapid active commotion

Synonyms:

ado; bustle; flurry; fuss; hustle; stir

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("stir" is a kind of...):

commotion; din; ruckus; ruction; rumpus; tumult (the act of making a noisy disturbance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Emotional agitation and excitement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("stir" is a kind of...):

agitation (the feeling of being agitated; not calm)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stir"):

electricity (keen and shared excitement)

sensation (a general feeling of excitement and heightened interest)

Derivation:

stir (stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of)

stir (affect emotionally)

stir (stir feelings in)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A prominent or sensational but short-lived news event

Example:

he made a great splash and then disappeared

Synonyms:

splash; stir

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("stir" is a kind of...):

commotion; disruption; disturbance; flutter; hoo-ha; hoo-hah; hurly burly; kerfuffle; to-do (a disorderly outburst or tumult)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Mix or add by stirring

Example:

Stir nuts into the dough

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

work (move into or onto)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Example:

call down the spirits from the mountain

Synonyms:

arouse; bring up; call down; call forth; conjure; conjure up; evoke; invoke; put forward; raise; stir

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

call up; summon (cause to become available for use, either literally or figuratively)

Verb group:

call forth; evoke; kick up; provoke (evoke or provoke to appear or occur)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stir"):

anathemise; anathemize; bedamn; beshrew; curse; damn; imprecate; maledict (wish harm upon; invoke evil upon)

bless (give a benediction to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of

Example:

the civil war shook the country

Synonyms:

excite; shake; shake up; stimulate; stir

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

arouse; elicit; enkindle; evoke; fire; kindle; provoke; raise (call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stir"):

titillate (excite pleasurably or erotically)

animate; enliven; exalt; inspire; invigorate (heighten or intensify)

elate; intoxicate; lift up; pick up; uplift (fill with high spirits; fill with optimism)

invite; tempt (give rise to a desire by being attractive or inviting)

thrill; tickle; vibrate (feel sudden intense sensation or emotion)

affright; fright; frighten; scare (cause fear in)

arouse; excite; sex; turn on; wind up (stimulate sexually)

fuel (stimulate)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to stir Sue

Also:

stir up (try to stir up public opinion)

Derivation:

stir (emotional agitation and excitement)

stirrer (a person who spreads frightening rumors and stirs up trouble)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Affect emotionally

Example:

I was touched by your kind letter of sympathy

Synonyms:

stir; touch

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

affect; impress; move; strike (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stir"):

get (evoke an emotional response)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to stir Sue

Also:

stir up (arouse or excite feelings and passions)

Derivation:

stir (emotional agitation and excitement)

stirring (arousing to a particular emotion or action)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Move very slightly

Example:

He shifted in his seat

Synonyms:

agitate; budge; shift; stir

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sentence examples:

The crowds stir in the streets

The streets stir with crowds

Sense 6

Meaning:

To begin moving

Example:

As the thunder started the sleeping children began to stir

Synonyms:

arouse; stir

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 7

Meaning:

Move an implement through

Example:

stir the soil

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stir"):

churn (stir (cream) vigorously in order to make butter)

paddle (stir with a paddle)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

The chefs stir the vegetables

Derivation:

stirrer (an implement used for stirring)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Stir feelings in

Example:

stir emotions

Synonyms:

excite; stimulate; stir

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "stir" is one way to...):

sensitise; sensitize (cause to sense; make sensitive)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stir"):

fuck off; jack off; jerk off; masturbate; she-bop; wank (get sexual gratification through self-stimulation)

masturbate (stimulate sexually)

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

work (provoke or excite)

blow; fellate; go down on; suck (provide sexual gratification through oral stimulation)

thrill (cause to be thrilled by some perceptual input)

quicken; whet (make keen or more acute)

disgust; gross out; repel; revolt (fill with distaste)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

stir (emotional agitation and excitement)

Credits

 Context examples: 

On the third day, the boy sat by the well, and did not stir his finger, however much it hurt him.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The stir of the life that was in him, the play of his muscles, was an unending happiness.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

If they are not put off, he cannot stir.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I think I have not stirred out of my bed for a week, that is when I once got into it at night.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

His bright glance went merrily round the room, as he took the seat on the sofa opposite to me, which Mrs. Micawber had recently vacated, and stirred the fire into a blaze.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And you are never to stir out of doors till you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

But there was nobody to stir in it.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Do go and see for her, Mr. Morland, said I—but all in vain—he would not stir an inch.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

With your emotions stirred, you may feel a little overwhelmed.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

His head and arms and legs were jointed upon his body, but he stood perfectly motionless, as if he could not stir at all.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)