What does agitatedly mean?
Agitatedly is an adverb meaning in an agitated manner — that is, with outward signs of anxiety, nervousness, or restless excitement. It describes how someone performs an action: a person might pace agitatedly, speak agitatedly, or gesture agitatedly, their movements betraying inner turmoil. The word derives from the verb 'agitate', which comes from the Latin 'agitare', meaning to shake or drive about repeatedly; figuratively, an agitated person is one who has been emotionally shaken. Agitatedly belongs chiefly to descriptive and literary English rather than casual conversation, where it lends precision to scenes of tension — a character waiting for news, searching frantically for something lost, or reacting to upsetting information. Its connotation is distinctly uneasy: unlike 'animatedly', which suggests lively enthusiasm, agitatedly signals distress. Writers value it because it condenses both action and emotion into a single word, letting prose show nervousness through behaviour rather than stating it outright.
adverbIn an agitated manner; with visible or audible signs of anxiety, nervousness, or excitement.
- In a manner showing anxiety, nervousness, or restless excitement.
"She paced the waiting room agitatedly, glancing at the clock every few seconds."
"He rummaged through his bag agitatedly, muttering that he had lost the tickets."
"'I can't sit still,' she said agitatedly, rising from her chair for the third time."
The word traces back to Latin 'agitare', meaning to shake violently — so when someone moves agitatedly, they are literally being described as 'shaken up'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of agitatedly
Agitatedly is formed from the adjective 'agitated' plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'. The root is the Latin verb 'agitare', a frequentative form of 'agere' (to drive or do), originally meaning to shake or set in violent motion. The word entered English via the verb 'agitate' in the late 16th century, first in its literal sense of shaking something physically, before acquiring its emotional sense of mental disturbance in the 17th century. Cognates sharing this Latin root include 'agitation', 'agitator', and 'agitated'.
Related word forms
How agitatedly is actually used
Agitatedly is an adverb of manner used almost exclusively in narrative and descriptive writing to convey visible unease. It carries a negative or tense connotation and is more common in literary prose than everyday speech, where phrases like 'anxiously' or 'in a panic' may be preferred.
Easily confused with agitatedly
Animatedly means with lively, energetic enthusiasm, while agitatedly means with anxious, unsettled excitement — the former is positive energy, the latter is distress.