Agitate — A Vocabulary Story
Mateo and the Fizzy Fiasco
Mateo had one job at the family picnic: carry the enormous bottle of fizzy lemonade from the car to the blanket. One job. Easy.
"Walk slowly," said his dad. "Whatever you do, don't agitate that bottle."
Agitate means to make someone feel worried, upset or nervous. It can also mean to stir or shake a liquid briskly, or to campaign or argue strongly for a change.
Mateo nodded seriously. Then he saw his little sister Lucia already at the blanket, reaching for the biggest strawberry. The biggest strawberry was HIS.
He ran.
The lemonade sloshed left. It sloshed right. It bounced against his knee with every galloping step. By the time Mateo skidded onto the blanket, he had agitated that bottle more thoroughly than a washing machine on a Monday morning.
"Strawberry, please!" he panted, snatching it just in time.
Lucia crossed her arms and stomped her foot. Losing the strawberry had clearly agitated her, and she glared at Mateo like a small, cross thundercloud.
"Peace offering," said Mateo grandly. "I shall pour you the first lemonade."
He twisted the cap.
The bottle hissed. Then it roared. A fountain of lemonade shot into the sky, soaked Mateo's hair, drenched the blanket, and rained down on his dad's newspaper with a soggy splat.
There was a long silence. A single bubble popped on Mateo's nose.
"I did say," murmured his dad, wringing out the sports pages, "not to agitate it."
Lucia looked at Mateo, dripping from head to toe, and handed him a napkin.
"You can keep the strawberry," she said kindly. "You've had a hard day."
Word Definition
agitate
meaning
to make someone feel worried, upset or nervous; to stir or shake a liquid briskly; to campaign or argue strongly for a change
synonyms
disturb · unsettle · stir · fluster · upset
antonyms
calm · soothe · pacify
example sentence
The sad news began to agitate her.