noun
Related Words
See disorder.
Etymology
Origin of uproar
1520–30; < Dutch oproer revolt, tumult, translation of German Aufruhr; sense and spelling influenced by roar
Explanation
Any kind of noisy disturbance can be called an uproar. A large group of political protesters outside City Hall is likely to create an uproar. There's often an uproar in the audience of a rock concert when the band first appears on stage — people cheer and applaud and whistle. An announcement that the neighborhood donut shop is out of donuts could create another kind of uproar, especially if people have been standing in a long line dreaming of crullers and chocolate glazed donuts. Uproar comes from the German Aufruhr, "a stirring up."
Vocabulary lists containing uproar
This Week in Words: October 13 – 20, 2018
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Crash
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Out of My Mind
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Randa Abdel-Fattah, the Australian-Palestinian writer whose disinvitation from a major literature festival in Adelaide sparked an uproar in January, said her upcoming book, Discipline, would be her "first and last book with UQP".
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
The uproar is merely the latest example of the massive inflation that has come to define the first World Cup held in the U.S. since 1994.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
It was the biggest embarrassment of all time that caused the uproar that it did.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
But that message was largely drowned out in the online uproar.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
The place was in an uproar, and Upton’s face grew purple.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
