incite

Incite is a verb meaning to encourage, stimulate, or spur someone to take action, especially toward a course of conduct that is harmful or unlawful. In everyday language it can describe urging others to act, often with a negative connotation. The noun form is incitement. The term is commonly used in legal, political, and social contexts to describe acts that push people toward crime or violence, or toward unlawful collective action.

The word derives from Latin incitare “to spur on,” via French inciter. In legal contexts, incitement refers to conduct intended to prompt another person to commit a crime. Whether an act constitutes illegal incitement depends on jurisdiction and the circumstances; many legal systems distinguish incitement to violence, incitement to commit an offense, and broader political or sectarian incitement. Typical elements include intentional urging and a likelihood that the urged act will be carried out; some systems require imminence of the threatened harm.

Public calls to attack a rival group, or to join a crowd in illegal acts, may be charged as incitement. Incitement is different from mere persuasion, or encouragement that does not amount to crime, or from instigation that lacks the necessary intent or immediacy. Related terms include exhortation, solicitation, and incitement to hatred or terrorism in jurisdictions that make those offences separate.