rabble-rouser

noun

ˈra-bəl-ˌrau̇-zər How to pronounce rabble-rouser (audio)
Definition of rabble-rousernext
as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent rabble-rousers inciting hungry people in breadlines to demand social justice

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 rabble-rouser Bryce Young makes the placid Brock Purdy look like a rabble-rouser at the podium. — Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 22 Nov. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for rabble-rouser
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rabble-rouser
  1. rebel
  2. firebrand
  3. agitator
  4. demagogue
  5. promoter
  6. proponent
  7. provocateur
  8. supporter
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
  • 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
  • Naturally, Cornyn’s increasing role as a White House agitator and swing vote hasn’t gone over well with the MAGA base.
    — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2026
  • Some of the speculation comes from state workers who are unhappy with the governor’s decision, the moderator said, but the subreddit’s activity also attracts outside agitators who are obviously not government employees.
    — William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of agitator
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
  • 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
  • On Monday, the act gained its highest-profile proponent yet when New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his support for the legislation.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Andrew Sweetman, the Scottish marine biogeochemist who led the work, hadn’t made such claims, but he was still pilloried by fellow-scientists, and proponents of mining accused him of being an anti-mining crusader.
    — James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 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
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

Browse Nearby Words

rabblement
rabble-rouser
rabble-rousers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rabble-rouser.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rabble-rouser. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of circumscribe

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All