Make Your Point: AGITA

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AGITA

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

pronounce AGITA:

ADGE ih tuh

connect this word to others:

I heard the word agita for the first time in a Jeopardy! category called "Feeling Jittery:"

Italian gives us this word for upset or jitters; Junior Soprano told Livia "I'm all this all the time."

(Source)

In other words, he's got agitation, annoyance, or anxiety.

The word agita is slangy and Italian. So is the word s__p__t_c_, meaning "pleasant or likeable, or getting along well together." Much like agita resembles and is related to agitation, so s__p__t_c_ resembles and is related to sympathy. Can you recall it?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Agita" arose in English as a slangy Italian-sounding synonym of agitation, annoyance, or anxiety.

It seems to have first appeared in a 1979 novel by Martin Boris titled Two + Two. I'll show you the context, with a warning that it's racist and crass: "My sons got Italian blood, proud blood. When someone sleeps with an Italian's wife he gets mad. My son, my real son, would get agita."

From there, "agita" was picked up by some mainstream writers in English. It's still relatively rare, though, so today it tends to sound slangy and quirky, with a definite Italian flavor.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the uncountable kind: "Applying for college can give you agita."

Other forms:

None.

how to use it:

When you'd like a rare, stylish, Italian-sounding substitute for "drama," "stress," "frustration," "hearburn," or "headache," pick "agita."

Talk about people, events, and situations that create agita, or that cause people agita, or give people agita. Or, talk about people getting agita.

examples:

"The spiraling cost of higher education is causing considerable parental agita."
— Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, Time, 22 December 2003

"The Bucks need to sign [the talented player Giannis Antetokounmpo], or they risk losing him. The entire situation is already producing agita among basketball fans in Wisconsin."
— Scott Cacciola, New York Times, 9 September 2020

has this page helped you understand "agita"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

study it:

Explain the meaning of "agita" without saying "angst" or "heartache."

try it out:

Fill in the blank: "There's so much agita around (something)."

Example 1: "There's so much agita around the rising cost of housing in the US."

Example 2: "There's so much agita around AI."
— Mae Karwowski, as quoted by Alexandra Bruell, Wall Street Journal, 27 March 2026

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is Subject Line Matching!

Try matching each capitalized term below with the email subject line that I used to introduce it. For an extra challenge, try recalling what each term means and how the subject line connects to it.

Try these today:

CAREEN: _____________
CIRCUMNAVIGATE: _____________
ELUCIDATE: _____________
GARNER: _____________
STYMIE: _____________

in your face, Magellan
golfers hate this one weird trick
liiiiiight buuuuulb
skreee!
the point of Make Your Point

To see the correct answers, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of AGITA is

A. CALM.
B. PROGRESS.
C. COMMUNION.

2. ZZ Packer argued in 2018 that the United States had "wound up in a state of agita, _____."

A. prioritizing etiquette and restraint over accuracy
B. drowning in pronouncements on the death of civility
C. sharing a common stake in the flourishing of the civic whole

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AGITA Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to "Make Your Point" for a daily vocabulary boost.

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AGITA

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.