as in rebels
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent
a political agitator who led an unsuccessful revolt against the government
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Recent Examples of agitators
Columbia students, along with outside agitators, broke into an academic building and temporarily detained the janitors inside.
—
Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Christian women wishing to reunite their families without calling for Hitler’s demise, or the release of all Jews, were harder for the regime to portray as political enemies or criminal agitators.
—Danielle Wirsansky, The Conversation, 10 Mar. 2026
Both largely blamed outside agitators, noting that conservative influencers urged people to attend the meeting and several of the speakers came from surrounding towns.
—Sarah Bahari, Dallas Morning News, 16 Feb. 2026
This, in my view, would have kept these agitators away from ICE agents, and almost certainly would have prevented both deaths.
—Michael Zais, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
Training often involves role-players who pretend to be protesters or even agitators.
—Michael Abeyta, CBS News, 13 Feb. 2026
Homan defended the work of ICE and Border Patrol, pointing to a decrease in agitators and cooperation from local officials as helping the administration reach success.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 13 Feb. 2026
First, there is the growing volume of anti-Wikipedia sentiment from right-wing agitators.
—Imogen West-Knights, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
Garvey is just one of hundreds of anti-government operatives training agitators to interfere with federal law enforcement.
—Asra Q. Nomani , Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Christian women wishing to reunite their families without calling for Hitler’s demise, or the release of all Jews, were harder for the regime to portray as political enemies or criminal agitators.
—Danielle Wirsansky, The Conversation, 10 Mar. 2026
Both largely blamed outside agitators, noting that conservative influencers urged people to attend the meeting and several of the speakers came from surrounding towns.
—Sarah Bahari, Dallas Morning News, 16 Feb. 2026
This, in my view, would have kept these agitators away from ICE agents, and almost certainly would have prevented both deaths.
—Michael Zais, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
Training often involves role-players who pretend to be protesters or even agitators.
—Michael Abeyta, CBS News, 13 Feb. 2026
Homan defended the work of ICE and Border Patrol, pointing to a decrease in agitators and cooperation from local officials as helping the administration reach success.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 13 Feb. 2026
First, there is the growing volume of anti-Wikipedia sentiment from right-wing agitators.
—Imogen West-Knights, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
Garvey is just one of hundreds of anti-government operatives training agitators to interfere with federal law enforcement.
—Asra Q. Nomani , Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agitators
Noun
-
Conflict has broken out in the country since 2013 after mostly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then President François Bozizé to quit.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The mixed movements followed a whirlwind of action in the war over the weekend, including an entry into the fighting by Houthi rebels in Yemen.—
Stan Choe,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
To Alfredo De Avila, of the Oakland Center for Third World Organizing, the UFW’s claims that Communist insurgents are plotting against Chavez and his union highlight how far the UFW has fallen.—
Marcos Breton,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Bakri is more brittle in Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher as Basem, a Palestinian teacher in the West Bank whose support for insurgents grows after his own son dies in prison and as Israeli settlers brutalize his neighborhood.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, many Houston fans had cleared out and the Illinois supporters stood and cheered as their team celebrated.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Ghio was the assistant child advocate before her nomination to lead the office, and her supporters say her track record is admirable.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Lost in all the heated rhetoric is the fact that so much of this turmoil would have been avoided if federal detainers were simply honored within local jails and state prisons — away from the public and professional provocateurs who are drawn to uncivil cultural conflict like bees to honey.—
Bob Ehrlich,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Mar. 2026
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The pair of social media provocateurs post their bizarre arguments and interactions with everyday New Yorkers, which usually end with them being chased down the street and out of bodegas and residential buildings.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Neither the artist’s team nor local promoters have issued an official statement regarding the cancellation or the rescheduling of the Milan concert, or possible adjustments to the immediate tour schedule.—
Franchesca Guim,
Billboard,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Today, the self-congratulation of white liberals has been displaced by white-supremacist promoters of Western civilization who don’t merely posit but brutally enforce inequality between races, peoples, cultures, and nation-states.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Even proponents acknowledge limitations.—
Claire Dodds,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
-
While proponents say changes have made streets safer, critics suspect projects that reduce space for cars will only make traffic congestion worse — even after the construction disruptions end.—
Bruce Finley,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Certainly Arendt, who lived through arguably darker times, did not see them as merely a product of the era’s monstrous demagogues.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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Following the outbreak of COVID-19, bias incidents and assaults against Asian Americans soared to alarming heights as demagogues on the streets and in high office inflamed xenophobic fear and animosity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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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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
Cite this Entry
“Agitators.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agitators. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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