firebrand

noun

ˈfī(-ə)r-ˌbrand How to pronounce firebrand (audio)
Definition of firebrandnext
as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent a firebrand who urged crowds to riot during the blackouts

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 firebrand The external, independent review assessed security procedures for the conservative firebrand’s September 2025 talk on the Orem campus, the university said. — Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 The Office of Government Ethics filing provides the latest look at the finances of the former firebrand Fox News host, who was confirmed as Defense secretary in January 2025. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026 Soon after, the Colorado Republican Party elected far-right firebrand Dave Williams as chairman, kicking off a series of internal disputes and lawsuits that continued for three years. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Sep. 2026 Their manager has not been the firebrand from the University of Tennessee that everyone expected. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for firebrand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firebrand
  1. rebel
  2. agitator
  3. proponent
  4. demagogue
  5. supporter
  6. promoter
  7. insurgent
  8. provocateur
Noun
  • The latest conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis began last month after the rebels seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway for oil shipments.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The latest conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis began last month after the rebels seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway for Gulf oil shipments.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also cited agitators moving between schools to encourage violence.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Advertisement As protests intensified, state media unleashed a frenzied smear campaign, casting Egyptian protesters as foreign agents and outside agitators.
    — Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of agitator
Noun
  • The billionaire tax fight grew more contentious last month after the lead proponent of the measure, SEIU UHW President Dave Regan, was accused of harassing female colleagues and threatening other union leaders to urge them to back the measure.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The biggest proponent of Proposition NN is the Colorado Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.
    — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of proponent
Noun
  • Unsheltered intertwined two plots related to the precarity of American life and the danger of demagogues—one set at the dawn of the MAGA era.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Unsheltered intertwined two plots related to the precarity of American life and the danger of demagogues — one set at the dawn of the MAGA era.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of demagogue
Noun
  • Instead, Khamenei’s death brought out the Islamic Republic’s ardent supporters.
    — Narges Bajoghli, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
  • But in an email to IndieWire on October 6, CAC co-director Kelsie Greene — who was promoted into the job alongside Skolnick at the beginning of the summer — took issue with how Skolnick and his supporters were representing why he was fired.
    — Adam B. Vary, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of supporter
Noun
  • By the time jokes start flying, about 12,300 tickets will have been purchased, said Creston Thornton, president of promoter Live Nation’s mountain region.
    — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Canny has decades of experience in the rock world, variously serving as a talent buyer, a concert promoter, an artist-management company VP, and the founder of an artist-representative firm.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of promoter
Noun
  • They’re seen as oligarchs, as the people with wealth and power, controlling our lives—not as outsider insurgents.
    — Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Others look further back to early and sporadic insurgent activity in 1964, before the UDI, or to 1965, the year of the UDI (November 11) itself.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of insurgent
Noun
  • Feigenbaum offered a more cautious interpretation, describing some of the violent perpetrators as fringe provocateurs who exploit broader demonstrations without necessarily directing them.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Mungiu’s prickly, nonjudgmental studies of human behavior have sometimes led him to be branded as a provocateur.
    — Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of provocateur

Browse Nearby Words

fireballs
firebrand
firebrands
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Cite this Entry

“Firebrand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firebrand. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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