A saboteur is a person who deliberately damages or destroys things such as machines, railway lines, and bridges in order to weaken an enemy or to make a protest. In Britain, people who try to stop blood sports such as fox hunting are also referred to as saboteurs.
The saboteurs had planned to bomb buses and offices.
...a confrontation between huntsmen and saboteurs.
Synonyms: demonstrator, rebel, dissident, hooligan More Synonyms of saboteur
saboteur in British English
(ˌsæbəˈtɜː)
noun
a person who commits sabotage
Word origin
C20: from French; see sabotage
saboteur in American English
(ˌsæbəˈtɜr; ˌsæbəˈtʊr)
noun
one who engages in sabotage
Word origin
Fr
Examples of 'saboteur' in a sentence
saboteur
For this was no Prussian saboteur; this was Frederic Bourne, companion of Francoise!
Baxter, Stephen ANTI-ICE
In other languages
saboteur
British English: saboteur NOUN
A saboteur is a person who deliberately damages or destroys things such as machines, railway lines, and bridges in order to weaken an enemy or to make a protest.
The saboteurs had planned to target buses and offices.
American English: saboteur
Brazilian Portuguese: sabotador
Chinese: 破坏分子
European Spanish: saboteador
French: saboteur
German: Saboteur
Italian: sabotatore
Japanese: 破壊工作者
Korean: 파괴하는 사람
European Portuguese: sabotador
Latin American Spanish: saboteador
(noun)
Definition
a person who commits sabotage
The saboteur planned to steal private documents.
Synonyms
demonstrator
Police tried to break up a crowd of demonstrators.
rebel
She had been a rebel at school.
dissident
political dissidents
hooligan
riots involving football hooligans
vandal
The phone box had been destroyed by vandals.
delinquent
dissenter
They do not tolerate dissenters in their ranks.
agitator
protest marcher
Additional synonyms
in the sense of dissenter
They do not tolerate dissenters in their ranks.
Synonyms
objector,
dissident,
nonconformist,
protestant,
disputant
in the sense of dissident
Definition
a person who disagrees with a government or a powerful organization
political dissidents
Synonyms
protester,
rebel,
dissenter,
demonstrator,
agitator,
recusant,
protest marcher
in the sense of hooligan
Definition
a young person who behaves in a noisy and violent way in public
riots involving football hooligans
Synonyms
delinquent,
tough,
vandal,
casual,
ned (Scottish, slang),
rowdy,
hoon (Australian, New Zealand),
hoodlum (US),
ruffian,
lager lout,
boot boy,
yob or yobbo (British, slang),
cougan (Australian, slang),
scozza (Australian, slang),
bogan (Australian, slang),
hoodie (informal)
Nearby words of
saboteur
Sabbath
sable
sabotage
saboteur
sac
saccharine
sack
Synonyms of 'saboteur'
saboteur
Explore 'saboteur' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of rebel
Definition
a person who rejects accepted conventions of behaviour
She had been a rebel at school.
Synonyms
nonconformist,
dissident,
maverick,
dissenter,
heretic,
apostate,
schismatic
in the sense of vandal
Definition
someone who deliberately causes damage to personal or public property