INSTIGATORS Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

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 His climate policy push has generated moments of significant blow back from right-leaning politicians and outspoken members of the public, leading political observers to cast green policies as all-but-inevitable instigators of climate backlash. —

Justin Worland, Time, 3 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 The instigators were allowed to go beyond peaceful protests to hindering law enforcement from doing their job which escalated with the result of two people tragically losing their lives. —

Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 1 Feb. 2026 Federal officials and the president himself were swift to label those killed as instigators. —

Dominik Dausch, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 28 Jan. 2026 Snowstorms are the most frequent instigators of massive flight delays and cancellations at the area's big airports. —

Doyle Rice, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025 The team found that artificial sweetener Stevia, as well as compounds released by our own gut cells, were the main instigators in activating these gut phages. —

New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for instigators

Noun

And in the middle of the Iran war, its proponents fear that could pose a major national security risk.

— Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 8 June 2026
This new age of beauty, proponents said, is about keeping your skin fresh in the long term rather than freaking about the appearance of aging in the present.

— Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 7 June 2026