rabble rouser

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who stirs up the emotions of a crowd, often for political or social purposes: A "rabble rouser" is an individual who deliberately provokes strong feelings, especially anger or discontent, among a group of people, typically to incite them to action or rebellion.

Usage Examples

• (A person who stirred up the crowd's emotions to cause unrest.)
• (An agitator who tried to provoke conflict among workers.)
• (A person who excited popular anger for political ends.)

Advanced Usage

• "to act as a rabble rouser": to behave in a way that intentionally agitates a crowd.

  • The speaker acted as a rabble rouser, shouting slogans to whip up the audience. (He deliberately provoked the crowd's emotions.)

• "rabble-rousing tactics": methods used to stir up a crowd, often through emotional or inflammatory language.

  • The candidate's rabble-rousing tactics alienated moderate voters. (His approach of agitating the crowd was divisive.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rabble-rousing (adj): tending to stir up the emotions of a crowd.

  • The rabble-rousing speech led to a riot. (The speech was designed to agitate people.)

• Rouse (verb): to cause someone to become active or excited.

  • The leader roused the crowd with his passionate words. (He stirred them up.)

Synonyms

• Agitator: a person who encourages others to rebel or cause trouble.
• Demagogue: a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular prejudices and emotions.
• Firebrand: a person who is passionate about a cause and incites others.

Related Idioms

• Stir the pot: to cause trouble or controversy.

  • He loves to stir the pot by making inflammatory comments. (He enjoys agitating people, like a rabble rouser.)

• Whip up a frenzy: to excite a group to a state of intense emotion.

  • The speaker whipped up a frenzy among the crowd. (He acted as a rabble rouser to create excitement.)