arouse or excite feelings and passions; "The ostentatious way of living of the rich ignites the hatred of the poor"; "The refugees' fate stirred up compassion around the world"; "Wake old feelings of hatred"
When you ignite something or when it ignites, it starts burning or explodes. The bombs ignited a fire which destroyed some 60 houses The blasts were caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited
If something or someone ignites your feelings, they cause you to have very strong feelings about something. There was one teacher who really ignited my interest in words