as in vandals
a person who destroys or damages something deliberately; a person who performs sabotage
The car's tires were slashed by saboteurs.
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Recent Examples of saboteurs
These include restrictions on the Internet and social media and surveillance measures intended to root out spies and saboteurs.
—
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2025
Fortunately for all the people who want to keep their money and the integrity of their elections safe from cybercriminals and political saboteurs, there’s been a breakthrough.
—New Atlas, 15 Nov. 2025
By hinting that his business was the victim of shape-shifting saboteurs, Westergaard distracted from the more prosaic story about the carelessness of his staff.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
But hidden away in a secret HQ, a group of celebrity saboteurs are watching their every move, carrying out missions designed to disrupt their success.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
Even far from the front line, soldiers tend to dress casually—presumably because of the risk of spies or saboteurs.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025
If instead the corporation digs in, further empowering the unwitting wreckers and saboteurs — well, bless their hearts.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
German federal prosecutors said a Ukrainian national suspected of coordinating a group of saboteurs who in September 2022 blew up the Nord Stream pipelines that transported Russian gas to Europe has been detained in Italy.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2025
Fortunately for all the people who want to keep their money and the integrity of their elections safe from cybercriminals and political saboteurs, there’s been a breakthrough.
—New Atlas, 15 Nov. 2025
By hinting that his business was the victim of shape-shifting saboteurs, Westergaard distracted from the more prosaic story about the carelessness of his staff.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
But hidden away in a secret HQ, a group of celebrity saboteurs are watching their every move, carrying out missions designed to disrupt their success.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
Even far from the front line, soldiers tend to dress casually—presumably because of the risk of spies or saboteurs.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025
If instead the corporation digs in, further empowering the unwitting wreckers and saboteurs — well, bless their hearts.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
German federal prosecutors said a Ukrainian national suspected of coordinating a group of saboteurs who in September 2022 blew up the Nord Stream pipelines that transported Russian gas to Europe has been detained in Italy.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saboteurs
vandals
Noun
-
The vandals came at night Tarring the asphalt with the coward’s color.—
Ken Burns,
The Atlantic,
28 Dec. 2025
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His paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction and have drawn thieves and vandals.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Saboteurs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saboteurs. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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