0 present participle of spark
1 to cause the start of something, especially an argument or fighting:
This proposal will almost certainly spark another countrywide debate about immigration.
The recent interest-rate rises have sparked new problems for small businesses.
The visit of the G20 leaders sparked off (= caused the start of) mass demonstrations.
Subjects listened to a phrase and indicated whether they heard, for example, 'keep sparking' or 'keeps parking'.
The sequence is loosely termed a strategy, and is invoked by either the demanding or the sparking function.
The food supply was particularly bad, sparking off further unrest.
They ran the risk of sparking off a concatenation of uprisings which could elicit an authoritarian response from both domestic and international authorities.
And given traditional opposition to the macinato in the province, it was logical to assume that sparking a tax riot would not be difficult.
In addition to sparking a particularly violent ethnic conflict, this coup attempt was the death toll for a remarkable political turn-around.
The opening chaconne balefully returns, sparking excited commentary from the violin.
More specific principles, based on narrow causal mechanisms, may do better in this regard but also may lack the metaphoric qualities of the broader principles in sparking human imagination.
