as in agitators
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-rousers
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
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
Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rabble-rousers
Noun
-
Columbia students, along with outside agitators, broke into an academic building and temporarily detained the janitors inside.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
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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
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
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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
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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
-
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
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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
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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
-
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
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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
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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
-
Even proponents acknowledge limitations.—
Claire Dodds,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Rabble-rousers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rabble-rousers. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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