as in nuisance
one who is obnoxiously annoying
the journalist was known as a gadfly for exposing hypocrisy in politics
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Recent Examples of gadfly
In this and other accounts of the conspiracy candidate and gadfly candidate, the picture that emerges is that of a consummate opportunist who wants to turn his Uncle Jack’s famous words on their head; what, RFK Jr. asks, can this country do for him?
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New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2024
Political tumult in Arizona opened a path for a perennial election gadfly with anti-government leanings to win the governor’s race in 1986.
—Amanda Luberto, The Arizona Republic, 24 July 2024
Nobody came forward to oppose her (except perhaps Sen. Joe Manchin, who isn’t even a Democrat, and gadfly Marianne Williamson).
—Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 22 July 2024
Weizman was a gadfly in the worlds of art and architecture.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for gadfly 
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2024
Political tumult in Arizona opened a path for a perennial election gadfly with anti-government leanings to win the governor’s race in 1986.
—Amanda Luberto, The Arizona Republic, 24 July 2024
Nobody came forward to oppose her (except perhaps Sen. Joe Manchin, who isn’t even a Democrat, and gadfly Marianne Williamson).
—Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 22 July 2024
Weizman was a gadfly in the worlds of art and architecture.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for gadfly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gadfly
Noun
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The world wars turned the insect from a nuisance to a mortal threat.Salama Udaipurwala, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2024
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But, as this CNN investigation reveals, this public nuisance has an exploitative underbelly that warrants scrutiny.Longreads, Longreads, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Common Pests & Plant Diseases Insect pests of camellias include tea scales and aphids, both of which produce a waste product called honeydew that encourages sooty mold to grow on the foliage.Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024
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Seventy years later, our arsenal for controlling pests has grown and diversified.Salama Udaipurwala, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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But then there are the annoyances that truly seem created for the sole purpose of annoying.Caleb Harris, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
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Another minor annoyance is that the on-screen text is pretty small.PCMAG, PCMAG, 6 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near gadfly
Cite this Entry
“Gadfly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gadfly. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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