Meaning & use
protesters
Last updated
“protesters” is a form of “protester”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounplural
People who publicly show strong disagreement with something, usually by marching, chanting or gathering in a group.
Grammar: Plural of protester: the protesters were peaceful.
Patterns
- protesters against something
- protesters demanding something
- protesters outside something
Hundreds of protesters marched through the city center on Saturday.
Protesters outside the factory demanded better pay.
The police kept the protesters away from the building.
Common combinations
- peaceful protesters
- The peaceful protesters held signs and sang songs.
- angry protesters
- Angry protesters filled the square.
- protesters gathered
- Protesters gathered outside parliament at noon.
- disperse protesters
- Police used loudspeakers to disperse the protesters.
- student protesters
- Student protesters demanded lower fees.
Synonyms and how they differ
- demonstrators
- Demonstrators is slightly more neutral and formal, and focuses on the public show of opinion.
- activists
- Activists campaign over a long period, whereas protesters may only join a single event.
- marchers
- Marchers describes people walking in a procession, not necessarily protesting.
- objectors
- Objectors disagree, often by formal complaint, not necessarily in the street.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: protesters or protestors?
protesters vs protestors
This is an accepted variant spelling; protesters is the standard choice in most dictionaries and newspapers.
Practice
The ___ carried signs and chanted outside the town hall.
Choose one answer.
A plural noun is needed as the subject. Protest is the event, protesting is an -ing form and protested is a past verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “protesters”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.