rabble-rouser

American

[rab-uhl-rou-zer] / ˈræb əlˌraʊ zər /

noun

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

rabble-rouser British

noun

a person who manipulates the passions of the mob; demagogue

"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

Other Word Forms

rabble-rousing adjective

Etymology

Origin of rabble-rouser

First recorded in 1835–45

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.

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

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2024

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

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2024

He’s since worked to become less of a rabble-rouser, and he left the caucus in 2023.

From Slate • Apr. 11, 2024

He was new, someone they’d picked up in the Paradise Islands, and a bit of a rabble-rouser, but no one contradicted him when he said it again, louder: “It just ain’t right.”

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023