Grammar fix
stir up
provoke trouble or strong feelings (often negative)
to deliberately cause trouble, strong emotions, or conflict, especially by making people feel angry or upset about something
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- The politician's speech stirred up a lot of anger among the workers.society
- Some people believe that the media often stirs up public fear to attract more viewers, which can have negative effects on society.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: stir up + noun (e.g. trouble, anger, controversy, resentment)
WrongShe likes to stir up with trouble.
RightShe likes to stir up trouble.
'Stir up' takes the object directly — no 'with' (or just 'stir things up').
Patternstir up + noun (e.g. trouble, anger, controversy, resentment)
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Stir up' is the everyday verb for provoking conflict or strong feeling; 'incite discord' is formal.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
stir up + troubletroublecontroversybad feelingthe crowd
Don't confuse it
Unlike the basic sense of 'stir up' (to mix a substance), this sense is figurative and refers to provoking emotions or trouble, not physically mixing things.