as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent
rabble-rousers inciting hungry people in breadlines to demand social justice
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Recent Examples of rabble-rouser
Teaming up with counterculture rabble-rouser Jerry Rubin, Lennon and Ono speak of peace and love with a naïveté that is both poignant and inspiring.
—
Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Every decade in fact seems to have had its own rabble-rouser whose shunning of norms have pushed the medium further and further, even if their own material was too out-there to gain a wide audience.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 28 Mar. 2025
Senate fiscal hawks are making a steep set of demands in negotiations over the debt ceiling, driving an even harder bargain than the House rabble-rousers who won $2 trillion in cuts.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2025
Back when the group was starting out, Mayor Koch sent the city’s coordinator for criminal justice, Robert Keating, to embed with Sliwa and get a read on this rabble-rouser.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Paul’s ability to maintain his standing in the party despite being among his conference’s rabble-rousers, such as Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Johnson (R-WI), is in part thanks to his public willingness to air his grievances.
—Ramsey Touchberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 19 Mar. 2025
In the week leading up to the 2001 Daytona 500, Hinton was portrayed as a rabble-rouser and a muckraker by NASCAR and its fans.
—Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
This year, the Super Bowl booked Compton firebrand Kendrick Lamar, offering a former award-show rabble-rouser an audience with President Trump in attendance.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2025
Still, with Trump’s ascension to the presidency, the DEI backlash has graduated from a social media campaign by a handful of rabble-rousers to the official policy of the federal government.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025
Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Every decade in fact seems to have had its own rabble-rouser whose shunning of norms have pushed the medium further and further, even if their own material was too out-there to gain a wide audience.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 28 Mar. 2025
Senate fiscal hawks are making a steep set of demands in negotiations over the debt ceiling, driving an even harder bargain than the House rabble-rousers who won $2 trillion in cuts.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2025
Back when the group was starting out, Mayor Koch sent the city’s coordinator for criminal justice, Robert Keating, to embed with Sliwa and get a read on this rabble-rouser.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Paul’s ability to maintain his standing in the party despite being among his conference’s rabble-rousers, such as Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Johnson (R-WI), is in part thanks to his public willingness to air his grievances.
—Ramsey Touchberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 19 Mar. 2025
In the week leading up to the 2001 Daytona 500, Hinton was portrayed as a rabble-rouser and a muckraker by NASCAR and its fans.
—Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025
This year, the Super Bowl booked Compton firebrand Kendrick Lamar, offering a former award-show rabble-rouser an audience with President Trump in attendance.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2025
Still, with Trump’s ascension to the presidency, the DEI backlash has graduated from a social media campaign by a handful of rabble-rousers to the official policy of the federal government.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rabble-rouser
Noun
-
In confrontations with both India and Iran, Pakistan has consistently denied offering safe haven to transnational rebels at a time when the country was struggling to stem a deadly wave of attacks by insurgents against its own soldiers and civilians.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.—
Aijaz Hussain,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
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His presence in the White House was also a lightning rod for far-right activists, including Laura Loomer, a firebrand right-wing commentator who is known to have Trump’s ear.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
1 May 2025
-
For me, one of those was a photo of comedian Bill Maher—longtime liberal firebrand—having dinner with President Donald Trump, a figure he’s relentlessly criticized for years.—
Margie Warrell,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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On Monday night, anti-Israel agitators with the group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) protested in the train station’s main concourse.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2025
-
This event is being driven by left-wing extremists and paid agitators with a clear agenda.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The merger proposal drew concern from competing concert promoters and venue owners, who claimed at the time that combining Ticketmaster and Live Nation would force them to work with their largest competitor.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Apr. 2025
-
The concept of WrestleMania was created by Vince McMahon, a second-generation wrestling promoter who served as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for four decades before resigning from his role with the company in 2024.—
Mark LaSota,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The film’s self-deprecatingly comedic artifice nonetheless captures chilling details of an adventure that starts with a demagogue’s cult-like following and ends with bloody corpses.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2025
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Consider this, too: If a demagogue can whip up animosity toward even a liberal democracy such as Canada, what can’t a demagogue do?—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Prospective visitors, along with park proponents, are concerned about what the parks and experiences may look like after the sweeping layoffs across the National Park Service and the larger federal government in February.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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Once the petition is submitted and approved by the Secretary of State’s office, petition proponents have 120 days to collect signatures.—
Gary Warth,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Filmmaker, actor, writer and good-natured provocateur John Waters turned 79 this week.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Yoko, a new biography about Ono by David Sheff, opens with a prologue about Cut Piece, introducing her—as provocateur, martyr, and social experimenter—through the lens of her own creation.—
Beatrice Loayza,
ARTnews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Some supporters even lost the will to protest, feeling nothing will change.—
Rob Tanner,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
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In a statement posted to X, Taylor congratulated Lee and acknowledged the impact of his supporters.—
Oumou Fofana,
Essence,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rabble-rouser.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rabble-rouser. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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