firebrand.
A torch or other burning stick with a flame at one end.
Meaning & usage
A torch or other burning stick with a flame at one end.
The crowd cheered as a firebrand was tossed onto the huge pile of wood to start the traditional homecoming bonfire.
An argumentative troublemaker or revolutionary; one who agitates against the status quo.
The member of the college's Communist League was a firebrand who would launch a sit-in or protest march at a moment's notice.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English fyr-brand, furbrond, equivalent to fire + brand. Cognate with German Feuerbrand (“firebrand”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.