rabble-rouse
Americanverb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of rabble-rouse
First recorded in 1955–60; back formation from rabble-rouser
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.
See Examples For:
As the tribunes, Bernardo De Paula’s Brutus and Daniel DeYoung’s Sicinius scheme and rabble-rouse with manipulative glee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Soon “Wins-a-ton,” as he dubs himself, is publicizing the business on radio broadcasts where he can rabble-rouse about local controversies such as the removal of Confederate monuments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Our son would never rabble-rouse at bedtime again.
From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
If you’re concerned about the fact that the internet could be a very different place in less than two months, now is a very good time to rabble-rouse.
From Slate ● Nov. 22, 2017
It is where Americans have the freedom to rabble-rouse, ruminate or maybe just relax -- their small- scale midnight rebellion.
From Time Magazine Archive
When rabble-rousing Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie wanted to make good on Republican campaign messaging.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
She first gained attention as one of the rabble-rousing and much-hyped Young British Artists of the early 1990s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
They were treated to a set of raucous, rabble-rousing electro-rap, and responded by setting off smoke flares and moshing in giant rippling circles of bodies.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025
A rabble-rousing activist with roots in L.A.’s labor movement, he had entered Eastside politics as Molina’s representative on what later became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
Maybe all hospitals should import groups of rabble-rousing punk rockers to kick-start the languishing patients’ hearts.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
