istigare

to instigate

verb ees-tee-GAH-reh Rare

Origin: From Latin instigare 'to goad, to urge on'

Also means

to incite

Usage Note

Istigare means to incite or instigate someone to do something, usually something negative or illegal — istigare al crimine ('to incite to crime'). It takes avere as auxiliary. The legal noun istigazione (f) is a specific criminal offense in Italian law (istigazione a delinquere, 'incitement to commit a crime').

Examples

"È stato accusato di aver istigato la folla."

Natural Translation

He was accused of having incited the crowd.

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