: a state of commotion, excitement, or violent disturbance
Synonyms
- ado
- alarums and excursions
- ballyhoo
- blather
- bluster
- bobbery
- bother
- bustle
- clatter
- clutter [chiefly dialect]
- coil
- commotion
- corroboree [Australian]
- disturbance
- do [chiefly dialect]
- foofaraw
- fun
- furor
- furore
- fuss
- helter-skelter
- hoo-ha
- hoo-hah
- hoopla
- hubble-bubble
- hubbub
- hullabaloo
- hurly
- hurly-burly
- hurricane
- hurry
- hurry-scurry
- hurry-skurry
- kerfuffle [chiefly British]
- moil
- pandemonium
- pother
- row
- ruckus
- ruction
- rumpus
- shindy
- splore [Scottish]
- squall
- stew
- stir
- storm
- to-do
- tumult
- turmoil
- welter
- whirl
- williwaw
- zoo
Examples of uproar in a Sentence
There was a lot of public uproar over the proposed jail.
There have been uproars in the past over similar proposals.
The proposal caused an uproar.
The town was in an uproar over the proposal to build a jail.
Recent Examples on the Web
Such listings, which have been denounced on social media, are starting an uproar, causing some landlords to shift course and leading to calls for authorities to prosecute those profiteering off pain.
—
Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025
The reintroduction of the species to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 caused an uproar for years and also sparked legal fights from agriculture groups to stop it.
—Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, 14 Jan. 2025
Despite public uproar over teenagers and children changing their genders, transgender teenagers and children rarely get prescribed gender-affirming medications, according to a new study.
—Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
That reveal caused a big uproar in town and Bears chairman George McCaskey essentially called Kreutz a liar.
—Jon Greenberg, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for uproar 
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Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025
The reintroduction of the species to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 caused an uproar for years and also sparked legal fights from agriculture groups to stop it.
—Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, 14 Jan. 2025
Despite public uproar over teenagers and children changing their genders, transgender teenagers and children rarely get prescribed gender-affirming medications, according to a new study.
—Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
That reveal caused a big uproar in town and Bears chairman George McCaskey essentially called Kreutz a liar.
—Jon Greenberg, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for uproar
Articles Related to uproar
Dictionary Entries Near uproar
Cite this Entry
“Uproar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uproar. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
uproar
noun
up·roar
ˈəp-ˌrō(ə)r 
-ˌrȯ(ə)r
: a state of commotion, excitement, or violent disturbance
Etymology
from Dutch oproer "revolt, uprising," from op "up" and roer "motion"; the English spelling and meaning influenced by the similarity of the English roar to Dutch roer
Word Origin
The -roar part of the word uproar has no connection with the sounds made by some animals and crowds. The first use of uproar was as the translation of the Dutch word oproer, meaning "uprising, rebellion, revolt." Thus, the first meaning of uproar was the same as the Dutch meaning of oproer. Nowadays, this sense of uproar is no longer used. Because people thought that the roar of uproar referred to loud cries and sounds, they began to use the word to mean "a noisy disturbance or commotion." This is the sense of uproar that has survived.
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