: 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
After a nationwide uproar, legislators in the state effectively created a loophole, writing a law that allowed for embryo damage or destruction for IVF specifically.
—
Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 20 Feb. 2025
The ruling caused an uproar and cleared the way for potential wrongful death claims if an embryo did not survive the process, causing several providers to pause IVF treatments.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2025
This caused such an uproar that Doumanian and most the cast were fired.
—Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 12 Feb. 2025
The uproar in legal circles over Adams' case may be overshadowed by rising alarms about a potential constitutional crisis on another front.
—Susan Page, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Uproar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uproar. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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.
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