as in rebel
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 agitator
All are agitators looking to rewrite the rules of influence and governance.
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Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2024
Make sure they're evenly spaced around the center agitator.
—Rabekah Henderson, Southern Living, 1 Nov. 2024
For three decades, Nitschke has been an agitator in the right-to-die debate.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 15 Oct. 2024
After starting the year as an agitator, Future conversely does what’s expected of him here, slouching into his legacy without any evident interest in doing much else.
—Gary Suarez, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for agitator 
Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2024
Make sure they're evenly spaced around the center agitator.
—Rabekah Henderson, Southern Living, 1 Nov. 2024
For three decades, Nitschke has been an agitator in the right-to-die debate.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 15 Oct. 2024
After starting the year as an agitator, Future conversely does what’s expected of him here, slouching into his legacy without any evident interest in doing much else.
—Gary Suarez, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for agitator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agitator
Noun
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The rebels have threatened new attacks in response to Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon and its killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024
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The Israel-Hamas war has intensified other conflicts in the Middle East, including attacks on international shipping lanes by Yemen’s Houthi rebels and between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 14 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Householder was an early Trump supporter in the Buckeye State and spoke at Trump's Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016.Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 22 Nov. 2024
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Before sending his supporters home from an election night watch party at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison, Hovde blamed the close contest on America First candidate Thomas Leager, who was recruited to run by a small group of Democrats posing as conservatives.Madeline Heim, Journal Sentinel, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
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As a result, the very outcome the founders most feared, namely election of a demagogue by a gullible cult of true-believers, has been made possible because of the Electoral College, which was originally designed to avoid precisely that outcome.Joseph J. Ellis, The Mercury News, 31 Oct. 2024
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Yale historian Timothy Snyder’s new book On Freedom explains how institutions of government can protect human rights while his 2017 book On Tyranny explains how demagogues succeed in eroding those pillars of society to be replaced by a tyrant.Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Crockett is going into her second term and has become known as an MSNBC mainstay and fierce partisan brawler with GOP firebrands.Andrew Solender, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024
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Robinson, the first Black lieutenant governor of North Carolina, rose to prominence as a conservative firebrand known for making a wide range of inflammatory comments about various groups, including Jews, Muslims, gay and transgender people and Black people who support Democrats.Jared Gans, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Green Day and Post Malone will headline the 2025 Coachella festival, promoters confirmed Wednesday in a complete lineup reveal.Thania Garcia, Variety, 20 Nov. 2024
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The five-v-five concept in boxing between the top promoters in the world is fun.Brian Mazique, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Travis County Judge Andy Brown, a Prop A proponent, said the county envisions an initial focus on hiring and training staff at existing childcare facilities.Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American-Statesman, 21 Nov. 2024
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Republican proponents of the measure wanted to prevent noncitizens from voting in local elections, like for mayor and school board, in the future.Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2024
Noun
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That’s exactly what Maurizio Cattelan, the artist and provocateur behind Comedian, intended.Natalie Stoclet, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
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Maybe Lanthimos is just in step with his moment — a madman provocateur for an increasingly mad world.A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 21 June 2024
Noun
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Boko Haram is a Nigerian insurgent group that started fighting in 2009 to oppose Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law.Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
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Republicans didn't plan on spending millions of dollars to defend Senator Deb Fischer, but Osborne's insurgent campaign has taken off.ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near agitator
Cite this Entry
“Agitator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agitator. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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