as in agitator
a person who causes trouble; a person who creates problems or difficulties involving other people
He had the reputation of being a troublemaker in high school.
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Recent Examples of troublemaker
Their bid to cash in on the find quickly unravels into a dangerous pursuit, as smugglers and rivals close in and an unlikely band of companions, including a resourceful fish vendor and a volatile local troublemaker, get swept up in the mayhem.
—
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
My great-grandfather said that the next day, the whole town celebrated because the troublemakers were gone.
—Masha Hamilton, Longreads, 19 Feb. 2026
Daryl, that troublemaker, shows up at the wake.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026
Iris Apatow and Costa D'Angelo are the latest troublemakers to stir the pot at Baird.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for troublemaker
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
My great-grandfather said that the next day, the whole town celebrated because the troublemakers were gone.
—Masha Hamilton, Longreads, 19 Feb. 2026
Daryl, that troublemaker, shows up at the wake.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026
Iris Apatow and Costa D'Angelo are the latest troublemakers to stir the pot at Baird.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for troublemaker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for troublemaker
Noun
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The Lightning were without Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli, two of the main agitators from the first matchup.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
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Columbia students, along with outside agitators, broke into an academic building and temporarily detained the janitors inside.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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These teases run counter to the messaging Grande has been putting out since last year about not doing another album anytime soon.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2026
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As Shrinking season three comes to a close, the cast and creatives behind the hit Apple TV comedy united at PaleyFest LA to celebrate the finale and give a tease as to what’s coming next.—
Alex Cramer,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Bullock, 61, and Kidman, 58, referenced Kidman's iconic AMC Theaters ad while introducing a new teaser for the upcoming film at CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 14.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
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The highlight of the sequence is a parody of the Psycho shower scene, part of which was shown in the teaser released last month.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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Hawkins joked that Heckel is usually the instigator of any trash talk between them, but there hasn’t been much jawing ahead of Monday’s second-round NCAA Tournament game.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Of course, that conservative approach is often wrecked by QB harassers such as Lawrence and Williams, part of a defense that ranked seventh in the NFL in sacks.—
Eric Branch,
San Francisco Chronicle,
17 Jan. 2026
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Instead, the lawsuit argued, law enforcement in the area where the harasser lived should have served the papers.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
27 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Troublemaker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/troublemaker. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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