Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Instigate

In′sti·gate (ĭn′stĭ·gāt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Instigated; p. pr. & vb. n. Instigating.] [L. instigatus, p. p. of instigare to instigate; pref. in- in + a root akin to G. stechen to prick, E. stick. See Stick.] To goad or urge forward; to set on; to provoke; to incite; — used chiefly with reference to evil actions; as, to instigate one to a crime.

He hath only instigated his blackest agents to the very extent of their malignity. Bp. Warburton.

Syn. — To stimulate; urge; spur; provoke; tempt; incite; impel; encourage; animate.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.