: a state of commotion, excitement, or violent disturbance
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
But one group may be a bit more hesitant than the other after this uproar.
—
Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
The Tel Aviv stock exchange dipped, and a public uproar began.
—Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
The game was played in the midst of uproar on social media as Kimmel’s show was pulled.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
That is why a salary cap across MLB has begun to be mentioned, but according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, that would cause an uproar among the players.
—Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for uproar
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Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
The Tel Aviv stock exchange dipped, and a public uproar began.
—Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
The game was played in the midst of uproar on social media as Kimmel’s show was pulled.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025
That is why a salary cap across MLB has begun to be mentioned, but according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, that would cause an uproar among the players.
—Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for uproar
Cite this Entry
“Uproar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uproar. Accessed 21 Sep. 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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