as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent
rabble-rousers inciting hungry people in breadlines to demand social justice
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Recent Examples of rabble-rouser
There are also rabble-rousers at the site, yelling expletives as heavily armed federal officers survey them on the sidewalk from a perch up on the roof.
—
Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 17 Oct. 2025
Most of these commentators, influencers, and rabble-rousers operate outside the mainstream-media spotlight, yet their influence is vast, shaping how the next generation thinks about race, gender, government, and truth itself.
—Clara Molot, Air Mail, 20 Sep. 2025
But the hard-right caucus, typically the House rabble-rousers and thorns in Johnson’s side, are all-in on the rescissions package as vocal supporters of DOGE.
—Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 12 June 2025
The Hause Family Campfire is the traditional Friday night closer of SUH, and this year’s guitar pull featured the Hauses, Sean Bonnette of the group AJJ, Tim McIlrath from hardcore rabble-rousers Rise Against, and newcomer Jon Muq.
—Trip McClatchy, Rolling Stone, 5 May 2025
Teaming up with counterculture rabble-rouser Jerry Rubin, Lennon and Ono speak of peace and love with a naïveté that is both poignant and inspiring.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Every decade in fact seems to have had its own rabble-rouser whose shunning of norms have pushed the medium further and further, even if their own material was too out-there to gain a wide audience.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 28 Mar. 2025
Back when the group was starting out, Mayor Koch sent the city’s coordinator for criminal justice, Robert Keating, to embed with Sliwa and get a read on this rabble-rouser.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Suzette Hackney, USA Today, 17 Oct. 2025
Most of these commentators, influencers, and rabble-rousers operate outside the mainstream-media spotlight, yet their influence is vast, shaping how the next generation thinks about race, gender, government, and truth itself.
—Clara Molot, Air Mail, 20 Sep. 2025
But the hard-right caucus, typically the House rabble-rousers and thorns in Johnson’s side, are all-in on the rescissions package as vocal supporters of DOGE.
—Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 12 June 2025
The Hause Family Campfire is the traditional Friday night closer of SUH, and this year’s guitar pull featured the Hauses, Sean Bonnette of the group AJJ, Tim McIlrath from hardcore rabble-rousers Rise Against, and newcomer Jon Muq.
—Trip McClatchy, Rolling Stone, 5 May 2025
Teaming up with counterculture rabble-rouser Jerry Rubin, Lennon and Ono speak of peace and love with a naïveté that is both poignant and inspiring.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Every decade in fact seems to have had its own rabble-rouser whose shunning of norms have pushed the medium further and further, even if their own material was too out-there to gain a wide audience.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 28 Mar. 2025
Back when the group was starting out, Mayor Koch sent the city’s coordinator for criminal justice, Robert Keating, to embed with Sliwa and get a read on this rabble-rouser.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rabble-rouser
Noun
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The apparent killing – captured on video shared online by the rebels themselves – took place at a university medical school in El Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over the city on Sunday.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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As regular troops in French service, the British treated them as prisoners of war instead of Jacobite rebels, and eventually repatriated them to France.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The 63-year-old former assemblyman isn’t campaigning as a culture warrior or firebrand.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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Whereas Melvin was a milquetoast mainstay with two decades of experience as a major-league manager, Vitello arrives as a 47-year-old firebrand who neither played nor coached at any level of professional baseball.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Tarek Bazrouk, an anti-Israel agitator who was hit with federal hate crime charges after assaulting Jewish counter-protesters, was sentenced to 17 months of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release.—
Rachel Wolf , Maria Paronich,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
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While the dye likely won’t affect the metal components, the plastic agitator, drum, rim, and seal in your machine may no longer be white.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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While Fury announced his retirement last January, promoter Frank Warren hinted at a Fury comeback with the British fighter hoping to complete a trilogy against the undefeated champion.—
Antonio Losada,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
-
In the article, Roufus criticized promoters who were focused on profits and lacked the experience to safely sponsor fights.—
Cleo Krejci,
jsonline.com,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In fact, the term itself was an epithet throughout the founding era, a way to describe ignorant and easily deceived popular majorities, perpetually vulnerable to demagogues.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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That’s in no way a movement that could sweep the midterms and then be harnessed by a charismatic demagogue to remake an entire political party.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This was a momentous development for child-care proponents such as myself, who have long argued that wide-reaching free programs are crucial for parents and for a healthy democracy.—
Elliot Haspel,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
-
That’s because the gains at the top are largely predicated on a speculative artificial intelligence stock market boom that even some AI proponents say could quickly fizzle — and potentially take the US economy down with it.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Curtis and Kirk were indeed to be found on opposite ends of virtually every hot-button cultural issue on which the latter made his name as a debater and provocateur.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
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Dynevor, meanwhile, finds texture in a villainous role that rightly reminds us how petty personal grievances (on campus, no less) may well be the driving force behind the most outspoken political provocateurs.—
Manuel Betancourt,
Variety,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Favorability Ratings Reveal Polarized Electorate All three candidates face underwater favorability ratings, though Mamdani’s supporters remain the most energized.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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At last weekend’s general assembly of Barcelona club members, Laporta tried to thread a delicate path when defending the plan to play a domestic game over 4,500 miles away, knowing that Tebas is not exactly popular with his team’s supporters.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rabble-rouser.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rabble-rouser. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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