agitated

1 of 2

adjective

ag·​i·​tat·​ed ˈa-jə-ˌtā-təd 

: troubled in mind : disturbed and upset

When Caswall asked him to describe what he had seen …, he got very agitated …

—Bram Stoker

was so agitated she could hardly speak

agitatedly adverb

pacing back and forth agitatedly

agitated

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of agitate

Synonyms of agitated

Adjective

• excited
• heated
• upset

Examples of agitated in a Sentence

Adjective

all ferry crossings were cancelled because of the agitated waters around the islands

by the time they finally showed up, long after midnight, we'd become so agitated that we never did get to sleep that night

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

When the door finally opened, an agitated young man who resembled Ryan Gosling (Rett Keeter) shined an LED flashlight directly into my eyes, a gesture that would become familiar over the next hour. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Altercations between agitated people with dementia and other residents or workers charged with caring for them are disturbingly common in long-term care facilities and private homes. — Jordan Rau, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026

Migratory birds in captivity develop Zugunruhe, an agitated fitfulness, at certain times of year. — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Following instructions from the kidnappers (unbeknownst to his increasingly agitated comrades), Lee drives out to meet them for the exchange, only to wreck his car and become distracted saving a nearby woman, Hua (Moon Lee). — Jake Cole, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from past participle of agitate

First Known Use

Adjective

1684, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for agitated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• allocated
• alternated
• amputated