agitated

agitated — adjective

1. feeling so worried, angry, or upset that you cannot stay calm, and other people

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

feeling so worried, angry, or upset that you cannot stay calm, and other people can usually tell from your voice, face, or movements.

Example

Mrs. Lin became agitated when the nurse said her son was still in surgery.

become + agitated, with cause clause

Yael paced the kitchen in an agitated voice, asking where his keys were.

collocation: agitated voice / agitated tone

Common collocations
  • become agitated
  • grow agitated
  • get agitated
  • look agitated
  • sound agitated
  • an agitated voice
  • an agitated state
  • an agitated manner
  • visibly agitated
  • increasingly agitated
Synonyms
  • upset

    broader; covers any unhappy emotion, not necessarily visible restlessness

  • flustered

    lighter; suggests confusion under pressure rather than deep worry

  • distressed

    stronger; implies real suffering, often from grief or shock

  • worked up

    informal; emphasises rising anger or excitement, not just worry

Antonyms
  • calm

    everyday opposite; relaxed in voice and manner

  • composed

    more formal; staying in control under pressure

  • serene

    literary; deeply peaceful, often unshakeable

Grammar Patterns

become/get + agitated

look/seem/sound + agitated

agitated + about/by/over + something

Usage Note

Subject is usually a person or animal showing the feeling outwardly — through pacing, a shaky voice, or restless movement. Distinguish from 'anxious', which can be purely internal: an agitated person looks agitated to others.

Common Mistakes

I felt agitated about the test but no one knew.
I felt anxious about the test but no one knew.
'agitated' implies the feeling is visible to others; 'anxious' can be hidden inside.
The sea was agitated by the storm.
The sea was churned up by the storm.
for water or objects in motion, native speakers prefer 'rough' or 'churned up'; 'agitated' is mainly used for people.

Word family

  • agitate
    verbC1
  • agitation
    nounC1
  • agitator
    nounC2
  • agitatedly
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words describe a troubled emotional state, but they differ in what is visible and what causes the feeling. 'Anxious' and 'nervous' are mostly inward — you can feel anxious before a job interview without anyone noticing. 'Agitated' is the outward version: the worry has spilled into the voice, hands, or movement, so others can see it. 'Restless' focuses on the body's inability to stay still, but without the strong negative emotion that 'agitated' carries. 'Upset' is the broadest word for unhappy feelings and can mean sad, hurt, or angry — it doesn't have to involve restlessness at all. Compare: 'She felt anxious about the result' (private worry) versus 'She grew agitated as the minutes passed' (visible, restless, others can tell).

agitated ↗anxious ↗nervous ↗restless ↗upset ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become agitated
  • grow agitated
  • look agitated
  • sound agitated
  • in an agitated state

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From the Latin verb 'agitare', meaning to drive, move, or stir up — itself a frequentative of 'agere' (to do, drive). English borrowed 'agitate' in the late 1500s with the literal sense of stirring or shaking something physically, like water. By the early 1600s, the meaning had stretched to cover stirring up the mind: making someone troubled or excited. The adjective 'agitated' settled into its modern sense — visibly worried or upset — during the 1700s, when emotional, behavioural uses overtook the older physical ones in everyday English.