rabble-rouser

[rab-uhl-rou-zer]

noun

1. a person who stirs up the passions or prejudices of the public, usually for self-interested reasons; demagogue.

rabble-rouser

noun

1. a person who manipulates the passions of the mob; demagogue

Other Word Forms

• rabble-rousing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rabble-rouser¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

There is some scepticism that the teenage Merz was much of a rabble-rouser.

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Smalls is a decidedly charismatic rabble-rouser in the momentous year “Union” chronicles.

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Ferguson has been a steady conservative, but not a right-wing rabble-rouser.

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“I’m a rabble-rouser who does humorous social commentary within a rock-and-roll setting,” he told The New York Times in 1990.

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But his detractors say he is a rabble-rouser who uses populism to win public sympathy.

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