uproar

noun

up·​roar ˈəp-ˌrȯr 

: 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

Still, some Republicans wavered on their support following the uproar. —Ross O'Keefe, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Dec. 2024

Now, the community is in an uproar TPWD implements new hunting regulations for first time in 50 years With overwhelming support from the public, the Parks and Wildlife Department updated its mountain lion hunting standards for the first time in more than 50 years. —Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 13 Dec. 2024

In today’s opinions newsletter: What’s on teenagers’ minds, planning for your future electricity needs and the uproar over birthright citizenship. —Joanna Allhands, The Arizona Republic, 10 Dec. 2024

In response to the unregulated health products being distributed by irregular practitioners and conventional physicians alike, as well as uproar over the unsafe food-handling practices revealed in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the contemporary American public-health apparatus was born. —Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

by folk etymology from Dutch oproer, from Middle Dutch, from op up (akin to Old English ūp) + roer motion; akin to Old English hrēran to stir

First Known Use

1526, in the meaning defined above

Kids 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.