agitator
[aj-i-tey-ter]
- a person who stirs up others in order to upset the status quo and further a political, social, or other cause: The boss said he would fire any union agitators.
- a machine or device for agitating and mixing.
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Origin of agitator
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for agitators
Contemporary Examples
But their “harshest” was on March 14, when pro-Russian agitators attacked armed with clubs, baseball bats and knives.
She later told me she recognized several Socialist Workers Party agitators in the room.
Historical Examples
Some of the agitators whispered, "He will be off, he will escape from us!"
The Black TulipAlexandre Dumas (Pere)
In the summer of 1914 the dreams of these agitators were realized.
The New York Stock Exchange in the Crisis of 1914Henry George Stebbins Noble
"If these agitators on the Left have any qualities of statesmen, now's their time to show it," he said.
The Eternal CityHall Caine
If they hate England it is because they have been so taught by priests and agitators for their own ends.
Ireland as It IsRobert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
Flynn and Jacobi, the men Peter had sent away, were radicals and agitators.
The Vagrant DukeGeorge Gibbs
agitator
- a person who agitates for or against a cause, etc
- a device, machine, or part used for mixing, shaking, or vibrating a material, usually a fluid
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for agitators
agitator
n.
1640s, agent noun from agitate (v.); originally "elected representative of the common soldiers in Cromwell's army," who brought grievances (chiefly over lack of pay) to their officers and Parliament.
Political sense is first recorded 1734, and negative overtones began with its association with Irish patriots such as Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847). Historically, in American English, often with outside and referring to people who stir up a supposedly contented class or race. Latin agitator meant "a driver, a charioteer."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper