AGITATOR Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

agitator

noun

ˈa-jə-ˌtā-tər

Definition of agitator

as in rebel

a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent a political agitator who led an unsuccessful revolt against the government

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of agitator An agitator is a post in the machine’s center that twists so the clothes can rub against each other, while impellers have a cone or disc on the bottom of the drum that spins. — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2026 Use 2 tablespoons in a standard top-load washer with a center agitator. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 July 2026 Videos showed police beating back agitators with batons and deploying anti-riot ordnance as the demonstrators chanted against the country's conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a massive political rally. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026 White attributed most of the hateful comments to online agitators rather than true WNBA or Indiana Fever fans. — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for agitator

Recent Examples of Synonyms for agitator

Noun

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery Sunday, a major crude oil refinery located on the Red Sea coast in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

— Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Attacks could draw retaliation and reignite Yemen’s war Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile.

— Fatma Khaled, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebel

Noun

Even her supporters glance askance at one another during her rambling entreaties.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Cliven Bundy, the family patriarch, rallied hundreds of supporters to block the roundup of his cattle, sparking a days long armed standoff between law enforcement and the Bundy group near the town of Bunkerville, outside of Las Vegas.

— Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of supporter

Noun

The Constitution was crafted out of fear — fear of concentrated power, factional dominance, corruption, demagogues, unchecked executives, and the use of public office for personal gain.

— Paul Oestreicher, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2026
But those standards can be easily stretched by demagogues, and a simple majority on the committee is enough to ban a party, though a panel of nine Supreme Court justices can overturn the decision on appeal.

— Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 18 May 2026

Definition of demagogue

Noun

If the conservative base continues to demand ideological purity, pushing polarizing firebrands into a general election, the result will always be an immediate, lopsided blowout.

— Dain Fitzgerald, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026
The speech that followed created the perception of her as a firebrand, but those who have followed her career closely have found a more circumspect figure.

— Tom Kludt, Vanity Fair, 17 July 2026

Definition of firebrand

Noun

The idea sometimes asserted by promoters that asset protection planning can allow a person to decrease their insurance coverage is false.

— Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Those recommendations can expose investors to steep losses, particularly when promoters use their audiences to inflate a token's price before selling their own holdings, a practice commonly known as a pump-and-dump scheme.

— Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of promoter

Noun

But lawmakers appear to be turning to the provisions as a means of transitioning away from that model and toward what proponents, including Netanyahu, describe as a mutually beneficial defense partnership.

— Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Although proponents say the substances help with weight loss, energy and muscle mass, and often cite research that has been done solely on animals or on a very small number of humans, no one knows for certain how or when it should be used in humans.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of proponent

Noun

The faux outrage was egged on by professional right-wing provocateurs like Robby Starbuck, Benny Johnson and a leading investor in MAGA darling Steak n’ Shake.

— Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
In the movie, out July 31, Hoffman plays fresh college grad Elliot, who lands an exciting job for renowned artist and provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde).

— Christina Perrier, InStyle, 30 July 2026

Definition of provocateur

Browse Nearby Words

agitational

agitator

agitators

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“Agitator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agitator. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of agitator

noun

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