Stir vs. Whirl — What's the Difference?
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Difference Between Stir and Whirl
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Definitions
Stir
Move a spoon or other implement round in (a liquid or other substance) in order to mix it thoroughly
Pour in the cream and stir well
Desmond stirred his tea and ate a biscuit
Whirl
Move or cause to move rapidly round and round
Leaves whirled in eddies of wind
I whirled her round the dance hall
Stir
Move or cause to move slightly
Nothing stirred except the wind
A gentle breeze stirred the leaves
Cloudiness is caused by the fish stirring up mud
Whirl
A rapid movement round and round.
Stir
Arouse strong feeling in (someone); move or excite
He stirred up the sweating crowd
They will be stirred to action by what is written
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Whirl
A specified kind of sweet or biscuit with a spiral shape
A hazelnut whirl
Stir
A slight physical movement
I stood, straining eyes and ears for the faintest stir
Whirl
To rotate rapidly about a center or an axis; spin.
Stir
A commotion
The event caused quite a stir
Whirl
To move while rotating or turning about
The dancer whirled across the stage.
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Stir
An act of stirring food or drink
He gives his Ovaltine a stir
Whirl
To turn rapidly, changing direction; wheel
She whirled around to face him.
Stir
Prison
I've spent twenty-eight years in stir
Whirl
To have the sensation of spinning; reel
My head is whirling with data.
Stir
To pass an implement through (a liquid, for example), usually in circular motions, so as to mix or cool the contents
Stirred the soup before tasting it.
Whirl
To cause to rotate or turn rapidly
Whirl a baton.
Stir
To use an implement to move or rearrange the fuel in (a fire) to increase light or heat.
Whirl
To cause to move with a spinning motion
Whirled the ball up into the air.
Stir
To add or mix in (an ingredient, for example) into a liquid or mixture by moving an implement
Stirred a cup of sugar into the cake batter.
Whirl
To drive at high speed
Whirled the motorcycle around the corner.
Stir
To mix together the ingredients of (a liquid, for example) before cooking or use by moving an implement
Stirred up some popover batter.
Stirred the paint.
Whirl
(Obsolete) To hurl.
Stir
To move or pass (an implement) through a liquid in order to mix or cool the contents
Stirred her spoon in her coffee.
Whirl
The act of rotating or revolving rapidly.
Stir
To cause to move or shift, especially slightly or with irregular motion
A breeze stirred the branches.
Whirl
Something, such as a cloud of dust, that whirls or is whirled.
Stir
To cause to become active; bestir
Stirred themselves to fix breakfast.
Whirl
A state of confusion; a tumult
The press room was in a whirl.
Stir
To excite strong feelings in or rouse, as from indifference
The speaker stirred us to volunteer at the homeless shelter.
Whirl
A swift succession or round of events
The social whirl.
Stir
To provoke deliberately; incite. Often used with up
Stir up trouble.
Whirl
A state of mental confusion or giddiness; dizziness
My head is in a whirl.
Stir
To change position slightly
The leaves were stirring in the breeze.
Whirl
(Informal) A short trip or ride.
Stir
To start to move, especially in rising from sleep
The house was quiet, as no one had stirred yet.
Whirl
(Informal) A brief or experimental try
Let's give the plan a whirl.
Stir
To move about actively or busily
People were stirring about the office.
Whirl
(intransitive) To rotate, revolve, spin or turn rapidly.
The dancer whirled across the stage, stopped, and whirled around to face the audience.
Stir
To move away from a customary or usual place or position
Instructed the guards not to stir from their posts.
Whirl
(intransitive) To have a sensation of spinning or reeling.
My head is whirling after all that drink.
Stir
To stir or mix a liquid or mixture
Stood at the counter stirring.
Whirl
(transitive) To make something or someone whirl.
The dancer whirled his partner round on her toes.
Stir
To be capable of being stirred
A mixture that stirs easily.
Whirl
(transitive) To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving motion; to snatch.
Stir
To happen or begin
When the civil rights movement first stirred.
Whirl
An act of whirling.
She gave the top a whirl and it spun across the floor.
Stir
To be roused or affected by strong feelings
"His wrath so stirred within him, that he could have struck him dead" (Charles Dickens).
Whirl
Something that whirls.
Stir
A stirring, mixing, or poking movement
Gave the fire a stir.
Whirl
A confused tumult.
Stir
A slight movement
Slept soundly and barely made a stir.
Whirl
A rapid series of events.
My life is one social whirl.
Stir
An excited reaction or commotion
The news caused quite a stir in our family.
Whirl
Dizziness or giddiness.
My mind was in a whirl.
Stir
Prison.
Whirl
(informal) usually following “give” A brief experiment or trial.
OK, let's give it a whirl.
Stir
(transitive) To disturb the relative position of the particles of (a liquid or similar) by passing an object through it.
She stirred the pudding with a spoon.
He stirred his coffee so the sugar wouldn't stay at the bottom.
Whirl
To turn round rapidly; to cause to rotate with velocity; to make to revolve.
He whirls his sword around without delay.
Stir
(transitive) To disturb the content of (a container) by passing an object through it.
Would you please stir this pot so that the chocolate doesn't burn?
Whirl
To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving motion; to snatch; to harry.
See, see the chariot, and those rushing wheels,That whirled the prophet up at Chebar flood.
The passionate heart of the poet is whirl'd into folly.
Stir
(transitive) To incite to action.
Whirl
To be turned round rapidly; to move round with velocity; to revolve or rotate with great speed; to gyrate.
The wooden engine flies and whirls about.
Stir
(transitive) To bring into debate; to agitate.
Whirl
To move hastily or swiftly.
But whirled away to shun his hateful sight.
Stir
To disturb, to disrupt.
Whirl
A turning with rapidity or velocity; rapid rotation or circumvolution; quick gyration; rapid or confusing motion; as, the whirl of a top; the whirl of a wheel.
The rapid . . . whirl of things here below interrupt not the inviolable rest and calmness of the noble beings above.
Stir
To change the place of in any manner; to move.
Whirl
Anything that moves with a whirling motion.
He saw Falmouth under gray, iron skies, and whirls of March dust.
Stir
(intransitive) To begin to move, especially gently, from a still or unmoving position.
Whirl
A revolving hook used in twisting, as the hooked spindle of a rope machine, to which the threads to be twisted are attached.
Stir
(intransitive) Of a feeling or emotion: to rise, begin to be felt.
Whirl
A whorl. See Whorl.
Stir
(intransitive) To be in motion; to be active or bustling; to exert or busy oneself.
Whirl
Confused movement;
He was caught up in a whirl of work
A commotion of people fought for the exits
Stir
(intransitive) To rise from sleep or unconsciousness.
Whirl
The shape of something rotating rapidly
Stir
The act or result of stirring (moving around the particles of a liquid etc.)
Can you give the soup a little stir?
Whirl
A usually brief attempt;
He took a crack at it
I gave it a whirl
Stir
Agitation; tumult; bustle; noise or various movements.
Whirl
The act of rotating rapidly;
He gave the crank a spin
It broke off after much twisting
Stir
Public disturbance or commotion; tumultuous disorder; seditious uproar.
Whirl
Turn in a twisting or spinning motion;
The leaves swirled in the autumn wind
Stir
Agitation of thoughts; conflicting passions.
Whirl
Cause to spin;
Spin a coin
Stir
(slang) Jail; prison.
He's going to be spending maybe ten years in stir.
Whirl
Flow in a circular current, of liquids
Stir
To change the place of in any manner; to move.
My foot I had never yet in five days been able to stir.
Whirl
Revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis;
The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy
Stir
To disturb the relative position of the particles of, as of a liquid, by passing something through it; to agitate; as, to stir a pudding with a spoon.
My mind is troubled, like a fountain stirred.
Whirl
Fly around;
The clothes tumbled in the dryer
Rising smoke whirled in the air
Stir
To bring into debate; to agitate; to moot.
Stir not questions of jurisdiction.
Stir
To incite to action; to arouse; to instigate; to prompt; to excite.
An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife.
And for her sake some mutiny will stir.
Stir
To move; to change one's position.
I had not power to stir or strive,But felt that I was still alive.
Stir
To be in motion; to be active or bustling; to exert or busy one's self.
All are not fit with them to stir and toil.
The friends of the unfortunate exile, far from resenting his unjust suspicions, were stirring anxiously in his behalf.
Stir
To become the object of notice; to be on foot.
They fancy they have a right to talk freely upon everything that stirs or appears.
Stir
To rise, or be up, in the morning.
Stir
The act or result of stirring; agitation; tumult; bustle; noise or various movements.
Why all these words, this clamor, and this stir?
Consider, after so much stir about genus and species, how few words we have yet settled definitions of.
Stir
Public disturbance or commotion; tumultuous disorder; seditious uproar.
Being advertised of some stirs raised by his unnatural sons in England.
Stir
Agitation of thoughts; conflicting passions.
Stir
A disorderly outburst or tumult;
They were amazed by the furious disturbance they had caused
Stir
Emotional agitation and excitement
Stir
A rapid bustling commotion
Stir
Move an implement through with a circular motion;
Stir the soup
Stir my drink
Stir
Move very slightly;
He shifted in his seat
Stir
Stir feelings in;
Stimulate my appetite
Excite the audience
Stir emotions
Stir
Stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of;
These stories shook the community
The civil war shook the country
Stir
Affect emotionally;
A stirring movie
I was touched by your kind letter of sympathy
Stir
Evoke or call forth, with or as if by magic;
Raise the specter of unemployment
He conjured wild birds in the air
Stir a disturbance
Call down the spirits from the mountain
Stir
To begin moving,
As the thunder started the sleeping children began to stir
Stir
Mix or add by stirring;
Stir nuts into the dough