firebrand
Americannoun
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a piece of burning wood or other material.
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a person who kindles strife or encourages unrest; an agitator; troublemaker.
noun
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a piece of burning or glowing wood or other material
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a person who causes unrest or is very energetic
Etymology
Origin of firebrand
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at fire, brand
Explanation
When someone is known for being wildly devoted to a cause or idea, they're called a firebrand. A firebrand enjoys pushing buttons and stirring up passions. Firebrand isn't such a tough word to remember if you think of that person's "brand" being "fiery." Someone who enjoys heating up the debate around a subject or lighting a fire under other people is a firebrand. "Fire" is their "brand." Firebrands come in all shapes and sizes: conservative, liberal, militant, creative. Anyone who takes a strong, provocative stance and challenges people with heated rhetoric might be labeled a firebrand. All it takes is guts and a willingness to stir things up.
Vocabulary lists containing firebrand
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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"Black Ships Before Troy," Vocabulary from the myth
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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.
Attal joins a crowded field of candidates, including 55-year-old Edouard Philippe, an experienced centre-right former prime minister, and hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, 74.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
As chief minister, he will now face pressure to shift from a firebrand politician to administrator: reassuring investors, delivering jobs and governing a state where political loyalties run fiercely deep.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Realizing he’d be unable to direct his fictionalized childhood remembrance, he entrusted it to his mentee Akin, the firebrand behind modern German classics such as “Head-On” and “In the Fade.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
Even Wall Street Journal editor-at-large Gerard Baker, hardly a left-wing firebrand, quipped that the address was so full of fictions he was beginning to doubt whether the USA men’s hockey team actually won gold.
From Salon • Feb. 25, 2026
Old buddy introduced him around till he knew every firebrand among the upper-class fellas the State Department wanted him to groom for revolution.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
