noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   One who riots; part of the unruly violent crowd causing a riot.

   "The rioters had erected a makeshift barricade and were pelting the police with rocks from behind it."

2. 2
   troublemaker who participates in a violent disturbance of the peace; someone who rises up against the constituted authority wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

agitatorbattlerbelligerentbelted knightbickererblade

Example

More examples

"The rioters had erected a makeshift barricade and were pelting the police with rocks from behind it."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English riotour, from Old French rioteor; equivalent to riot + -er.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.