bestir.

To rouse someone, usually yourself, from inactivity and get them to begin acting.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• bestir oneself
• bestir yourself to act
• finally bestir

On the page

By noon he had finally bestirred himself to answer the letters.

The committee bestirred itself only when the deadline became public.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated prose. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: bestir; bestirs; bestirred; bestirred; bestirring Commonness: uncommon (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Direct dictionary reading: rouse to action/get going, bestirred/bestirring/bestirs. Usually reflexive bestir oneself. Contemporary narrative/commentary examples support usefulness despite literary or somewhat old-fashioned tone; not mere waking from sleep. Individual usefulness checked for a precise literary, narrative, dialogue or critical function. Definitions and examples are original; commonness is an editorial estimate. Mood and intensity apply only to inherent qualities of the specific sense. Writing functions: rousing oneself from inactivity, ironic description of overdue action. Third-person singular: bestirs.