as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent
a firebrand who urged crowds to riot during the blackouts
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of firebrand
Do voters want another headline-grabbing firebrand in Greene’s mold?
—
Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Like Greta Thunberg—another firebrand who refused to neuter her activism after being fêted by the liberal establishment—Smalls joined the 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, attempting to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza strip.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Which firebrand Hollywood executive made this brash prediction?
—Alex Sherman, CNBC, 18 Dec. 2025
The Democrat defeated incumbent Republican Tony Peraica, a firebrand who had run unsuccessfully for Cook County Board president four years earlier.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firebrand
Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Like Greta Thunberg—another firebrand who refused to neuter her activism after being fêted by the liberal establishment—Smalls joined the 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, attempting to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza strip.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Which firebrand Hollywood executive made this brash prediction?
—Alex Sherman, CNBC, 18 Dec. 2025
The Democrat defeated incumbent Republican Tony Peraica, a firebrand who had run unsuccessfully for Cook County Board president four years earlier.
—Adam Harrington, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firebrand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firebrand
Noun
-
When John commands Cal to cut his long hair, Cal rebels by dyeing it platinum and trimming it into a chin-length bob.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Marcos briefly suspended habeas corpus and blamed his sclerotic economy on the agitations of leftist rebels, students, journalists, and preachers.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Agents sprayed pepper balls and tear gas toward a nearby crowd of agitators as the altercation continued, though the man was ultimately released.—
Greg Wehner , Matt Finn,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
This is why, apart from rhetoric, the MAGA crowd insists there must be outside money, outside organization, outside agitators here.—
Katherine Packert Burke,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But proponents of the industry claim that the environmental costs still net out as a plus since the space data centers take processing off the fossil-fuel-burning grid.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
-
One of the biggest proponents of the capri resurgence, the supermodel has been making a stylish case for cropped pants since last summer—and her latest iteration takes the divisive Noughties silhouette into Italian girl style territory.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Where is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Zohran Mamdani and the rest of the radical fringe left who take every opportunity to demagogue and slander Israel, and yet not one word about Iran?—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Jan. 2026
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In turn, the erosion of trust has weakened the social contract that sustains representative government, leaving democracies more vulnerable to populist demagogues, institutional paralysis, and the gradual normalization of authoritarian alternatives.—
NIC CHEESEMAN,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Yet the fact remains that their league position has slipped from fifth to 12th since away supporters last watched their team winning in the league, 2-0 at Nottingham Forest at the end of November.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire and Perfect Days director and long-time Berlinale supporter Wenders was announced as the president of the jury in December.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The friend who went to the nightclub with Rodriguez, and was at the apartment while she was raped, confronted the promoter who first invited them to the club the next day, according to the lawsuit.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
29 Jan. 2026
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The tour will be a nostalgia rush filled with era-defining hits, as the tour’s promoter Live Nation describes it.—
Rashad Alexander,
Kansas City Star,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Israel — home to more Holocaust survivors than any other country — marks its remembrance day, Yom HaShoah, on the anniversary of the April 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, emphasizing the heroism of the Jewish insurgents who resisted the Nazi terror.—
Vanessa Gera,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
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According to two senior government officials, the Canadian armed forces were drafting insurgent-like tactics mirroring those used by the Taliban to fight back against the US invasion of Afghanistan.—
Joe Wilkins Published Jan 21,
Futurism,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In 1988, when the Sun-Times sports section was seeking a provocateur, Boers was the choice.—
Phil Rosenthal,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
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Local far-right provocateur David Pettinger attended the Wednesday hearing to air rumors that swirled online that the bill was backed by Israel, which is thousands of miles away.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Firebrand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firebrand. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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