protestor
Sign-waving dissenter
A protestor is someone who participates in a public demonstration against something—a policy, injustice, or institution: Protestors gathered outside the courthouse.
The spelling with -or is a common variant of protester, with no difference in meaning.
Both appear in edited prose, though protester is slightly more frequent.
Rhythmic group walk
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- rallyGathering for a cause
- picketPointed fence stake
- boycottOrganized economic protest
sit-in · strike · walkout · blockade · vigil · occupation · civil disobedience · hunger strike
Public cause supporter
- campaignerOne who advocates publicly
- organizerArrangement tool or person
- agitatorOne who foments discord
- crusaderZealous advocate for change
reformer · lobbyist · petitioner · champion · environmentalist · feminist · abolitionist · suffragette
Formal claim of unfairness
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
- rightsJustified claims to freedoms
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- equalitySame status for all
reform · change · solidarity · awareness · outcry · discontent · complaint · demand
Capacity to withstand force
- rebellionDefiance of established power
- disobedienceRefusal to follow orders
- noncomplianceFailure to follow requirements
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
refusal · dissent · insubordination · obstruction · confrontation · arrest · detention · tear gas
Oral communication ability
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- declarationFormal public announcement
- proclamationFormal public announcement
- statementExpressed claim or fact
message · demand · appeal · call to action · rhetoric · persuasion · expression · narrative
march
Rhythmic group walk
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- rallyGathering for a cause
- picketPointed fence stake
boycott · sit-in · strike · walkout · blockade · vigil · occupation · civil disobedience · hunger strike · die-in
advocate
Public cause supporter
- campaignerOne who advocates publicly
- organizerArrangement tool or person
- agitatorOne who foments discord
crusader · reformer · lobbyist · petitioner · champion · environmentalist · feminist · abolitionist · suffragette · unionist
grievance
Formal claim of unfairness
equality · reform · change · solidarity · awareness · outcry · discontent · complaint · demand · manifesto
resistance
Capacity to withstand force
- rebellionDefiance of established power
- disobedienceRefusal to follow orders
- noncomplianceFailure to follow requirements
opposition · refusal · dissent · insubordination · obstruction · confrontation · arrest · detention · tear gas · pepper spray
speech
Oral communication ability
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
- declarationFormal public announcement
- proclamationFormal public announcement
statement · message · demand · appeal · call to action · rhetoric · persuasion · expression · narrative · dialogue
- reformersreformers, reformer, social reformers, social reformer, political reformer
- activistsactivist, Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activists, campaigner, demonstrator
- advocatesadvocate, activist, campaigner, crusader, defender
- protestsdemonstration, demonstrations, rallies, street protests, sit-in
- talkerstalker, chatterbox, motormouth, motor-mouth, loudmouth
- contrarianscontrarian, dissenter, naysayer, skeptic, doubter
protestorbystander
One who observes nearby
onlooker · spectator · observer · silent majority · fence-sitter
protestorsupporter
One who backs another
loyalist · defender · apologist · conformist · bootlicker
protestorriot police
Officers deployed for civil unrest
police officer · law enforcement · authority figure · enforcer · oppressor
- labor protestOrganized worker demonstration
- peaceful protestNonviolent collective expression of dissent
- protest chantsCollective cries at rallies
- protest singer
- protest songsMusic voicing political dissent
- under protestWith stated objection
protest, protester, protesting, protested, protestation, protestors, protestations, unprotested