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instigators

noun

plural of instigator
as in proponents
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent an instigator who always managed to be innocently standing by once the fighting began

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 instigators Luis Suarez was one of the instigators, spit on a Sounders official, and was punished with six-game Leagues Cup suspension, which means the Uruguayan forward is banned from the entire 2026 tournament. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026 It was said in jest, yet the sport’s most audacious instigators might take him up on it. — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 23 July 2026 Heat coach Erik Spoelstra at the time downplayed the confrontation, with the Heat routinely making peace after acquiring former Heat instigators. — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 28 June 2026 The parents, arguably the film’s first instigators, operate based off fear of their children’s sexuality. — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 19 June 2026 The Aussies aren’t the sole instigators, according to them. — Sean Gregory, Time, 18 June 2026 There are leaders, lurkers, peacekeepers, instigators, and the person who only surfaces to drop an occasional thumbs-up. — Sam Reed, Glamour, 18 May 2026 All of that would be intriguing even if the founders of Deep Voodoo weren’t South Park instigators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 31 Mar. 2026 In 2001, the United States and its allies stormed into Afghanistan, aiming to destroy the Taliban and round up the instigators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. — Nolan Finley, Twin Cities, 6 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for instigators
  1. proponents
  2. promoters
  3. agitators
  4. supporters
  5. rebels
  6. provocateurs
  7. advocates
  8. insurgents
Noun
  • These early proponents of quantum biology sought explanations for the puzzling properties of life at the classical scale in the counterintuitive laws of physics at the quantum scale.
    — Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026
  • For its proponents, a country could not be fully independent while its resources and institutions remained excessively dependent on decisions made elsewhere.
    — Andre Pagliarini, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of proponents
Noun
  • While promoters and venues wield great power over concert tours, experts say an artist of Sheeran’s magnitude generally has the final say about what happens concerning the shows.
    — Tassanee Vejpongsa, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Under this model, promoters must convince a genuinely private investor that their company represents a worthwhile investment opportunity.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of promoters
Noun
  • Among the agitators were the workers at Sytin’s Moscow publishing house.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • In Portsmouth, a group of far-right agitators first attempted to stop lifeboats from bringing the migrants onshore before seeking to block buses from taking the asylum seekers to a processing facility.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of agitators
Noun
  • Some of the nations attending the meeting in western Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region, such as Poland and Romania, have been staunch supporters of Ukraine.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The case drew national attention and became racially charged, with supporters of Anthony criticizing the lack of Black jurors and calling for his acquittal, while supporters of the Metcalf family gathered outside the courthouse seeking justice.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of supporters
Noun
  • Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, said Washington reached out to the rebels after their rapid advance down Yemen's western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The State Department issued a caution warning to Americans in the Middle East on Saturday night after Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at an airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.
    — Carter Schroppe, The Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of rebels
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
  • Global organizations navigate a complex landscape, prompting boards to evolve beyond traditional oversight into strategic provocateurs.
    — Anna Marks, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of provocateurs
Noun
  • Such incidental takings are the most common way that endangered animals die, the NYT reported, so advocates fear the move largely guts the ESA.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Too often, environmental advocates insist on the elimination of poaching, logging, and other harmful activities while remaining wholly unfamiliar with the factors at play that lead to predation, neglect, and abuse of nature.
    — Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of advocates
Noun
  • The latest operation came just over a week after Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ruled out negotiations with insurgents and said security operations would continue until militancy was eliminated from the province.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Hundreds joined the insurgents that day, and their numbers soon swelled into the thousands.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of insurgents

Browse Nearby Words

instigator
instigators
instill
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Cite this Entry

“Instigators.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/instigators. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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