rabble-rousers

noun

plural of rabble-rouser
as in agitators
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent rabble-rousers inciting hungry people in breadlines to demand social justice

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 rabble-rousers Being put on some list of rabble-rousers? — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Apr. 2026 And still the Swedish rabble-rousers endure. — Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026 Most of these commentators, influencers, and rabble-rousers operate outside the mainstream-media spotlight, yet their influence is vast, shaping how the next generation thinks about race, gender, government, and truth itself. — Clara Molot, Air Mail, 20 Sep. 2025 Columbia University's new president is already facing opposition from anti-Israel rabble-rousers, who have condemned her for previous actions taken against leftist encampments at her last college. — Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rabble-rousers
  1. agitators
  2. rebels
  3. supporters
  4. promoters
  5. provocateurs
  6. demagogues
  7. insurgents
  8. proponents
Noun
  • Videos showed police beating back agitators with batons and deploying anti-riot ordnance as the demonstrators chanted against the country's conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a massive political rally.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
  • White attributed most of the hateful comments to online agitators rather than true WNBA or Indiana Fever fans.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of agitators
Noun
  • He was convicted in 2009 of human rights abuses in the fight against the rebels, and later of corruption charges.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
  • He was convicted in 2009 of human rights abuses in the fight against the rebels and, later on, corruption charges.
    — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
Definition of rebels
Noun
  • The event is open to #LatinaGeeks members, allies and supporters.
    — Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
  • Duplass Brothers Productions is one of the original supporters of the fund, which was created to support micro-budget feature filmmaking by transgender creators.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 6 July 2026
Definition of supporters
Noun
  • Veteran rave promoters envision Origin as a 1,000-capacity, Blade Runner–style warehouse with modular patio stages, offering daytime community events that transition into intimate Afro-house and hard-rave nights.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
  • Gálvez promoters also want all Americans to see his army as a symbol of the promise of our multiracial democracy.
    — Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026
Definition of promoters
Noun
  • Global organizations navigate a complex landscape, prompting boards to evolve beyond traditional oversight into strategic provocateurs.
    — Anna Marks, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Just a funny parasocial back-and-forth between some of the most passionate fans in sports and one of the best provocateurs the SEC has seen since Steve Spurrier.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026
Definition of provocateurs
Noun
  • But those standards can be easily stretched by demagogues, and a simple majority on the committee is enough to ban a party, though a panel of nine Supreme Court justices can overturn the decision on appeal.
    — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
  • But demeaning our brand through association with vulgar demagogues is a losing strategy.
    — Alma Hernandez, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026
Definition of demagogues
Noun
  • The establishment’s theory of the case has always been that popular insurgents are too risky, too unpolished, too outside the lane.
    — Tad Devine, Fortune, 7 July 2026
  • Fujimori, 51, is the daughter of late President Alberto Fujimori, who governed the country ​with an iron fist from 1990 to 2000 and was credited with defeating Maoist insurgents and taming runaway hyperinflation.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 4 July 2026
Definition of insurgents
Noun
  • Stream-access proponents took a similar approach in 2010, after a landowner on the Taylor River strung cables from bank to bank to keep a rafting company from floating down.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026
  • Many proponents believe that access to affordable models will act as a leveler, allowing smaller enterprises to innovate, test, and gain insights in ways previously that were previously much more challenging.
    — Francesca Cassidy, Fortune, 22 June 2026
Definition of proponents

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Cite this Entry

“Rabble-rousers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rabble-rousers. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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