firebrand

noun

ˈfī(-ə)r-ˌbrand How to pronounce firebrand (audio)
Definition of firebrandnext
as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent a firebrand who urged crowds to riot during the blackouts

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of firebrand One was a $750,000 donation to the California Republican Party and the other a $100,000 check to Reform California, the political organization run by firebrand conservative Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-Valley Center. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026 Mélenchon, 75, a veteran anti-capitalist firebrand, finished third in the 2022 presidential election and fourth in both 2017 and 2012. — ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026 The external, independent review assessed security procedures for the conservative firebrand’s September 2025 talk on the Orem campus, the university said. — Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 The Office of Government Ethics filing provides the latest look at the finances of the former firebrand Fox News host, who was confirmed as Defense secretary in January 2025. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for firebrand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firebrand
  1. rebel
  2. agitator
  3. proponent
  4. demagogue
  5. supporter
  6. promoter
  7. insurgent
  8. provocateur
Noun
  • The war next door United Nations experts have documented Rwandan military support for M23 rebels, which have seized territory in eastern DRC.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
  • But the rebels also have an array of relatively cheap drones, including weapons supplied by Iran, and locally made copies of Iranian attack drones.
    — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • Scores of pages of planning documents and social media posts analyzed by Fox News Digital reveal that agitators have laid the groundwork for a coordinated campaign with money, logistics and a communications infrastructure behind their efforts.
    — Asra Q. Nomani, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • An agitator jumped onto the hood of an ICE vehicle and the officer driving applied the brakes.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of agitator
Noun
  • Some proponents of tighter regulation will accept incremental progress, while others push for more sweeping change.
    — Barbara A. Trish, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Jackson, a proponent of Medicare for All, wrote Maine’s law creating the Prescription Drug Affordability Board and establishing pathways to importing cheaper drugs from Canada.
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of proponent
Noun
  • Unsheltered intertwined two plots related to the precarity of American life and the danger of demagogues—one set at the dawn of the MAGA era.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Unsheltered intertwined two plots related to the precarity of American life and the danger of demagogues — one set at the dawn of the MAGA era.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of demagogue
Noun
  • Continue reading … DIRTY POLITICS — Antifa supporter charged with stealing GOP campaign signs in NY race to replace Stefanik.
    — , FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Ahead of Frost’s Monday sentencing after his guilty plea to wire fraud, a flood of family members and supporters submitted about 80 letters to the court in a bid for leniency.
    — Kelly Yamanouchi, AJC.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of supporter
Noun
  • The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Why concert tickets keep getting more expensive Artists, promoters, venues, and ticketing platforms all take a cut of each ticket.
    — James LaForge, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of promoter
Noun
  • Khalilzad on Friday wrote on X that there had been reports of Pakistan arming Afghans to fight the Taliban inside Afghanistan and of the Pakistani military recruiting Afghans to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • President Emmanuel Macron has been the primary target of scorn following nationwide riots that overtook Paris and other cities, but the insurgent National Rally does not want to let mainstream conservatives off the hook.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of insurgent
Noun
  • Feigenbaum offered a more cautious interpretation, describing some of the violent perpetrators as fringe provocateurs who exploit broader demonstrations without necessarily directing them.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Mungiu’s prickly, nonjudgmental studies of human behavior have sometimes led him to be branded as a provocateur.
    — Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of provocateur

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Cite this Entry

“Firebrand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firebrand. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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