Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A person who leads others, especially in illicit or informal activities.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who leads a ring, as of dancers; one who opens a ball.
- n. Hence The leader or chief in any enterprise; particularly, one who leads and incites others to the violation of the law or the recognized rules of society: as, the ringleader in a riot or a mutiny.
Wiktionary
- n. a leader of a group of people, especially an unofficial group
- n. a person who starts and leads a disturbance (such as a riot), a conspiracy, or a criminal gang
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The leader of a circle of dancers; hence, the leader of a number of persons acting together; the leader of a herd of animals.
- n. Opprobriously, a leader of a body of men engaged in the violation of law or in an illegal enterprise, as rioters, mutineers, or the like.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a person who leads (especially in illicit activities)
Etymologies
- ring + leader (Wiktionary)
Examples
“They will also come into contact with a traveling carnival which also seeks out people with abilities and whose sinister ringleader is played by new cast member Robert Knepper (Prison Break).”
“Notice the teabagger ringleader is obviously a huge Captain America fan.”
“All those mischievous gremlins populating the comic -- including the misbehavin 'ringleader "Not Me" -- deserve some serious CGI time on the big screen.”
The Washington Post: 5 Rules for making 'FAMILY CIRCUS' into the newly announced live-action film
“Authorities say they have arrested someone they describe as a ringleader of the attack.”
Voice of America: Dozens Killed in Apparent Iranian Suicide Attack
“The turnaround came when Sister Maximilian began to take 7-year-old Rosie, whom she identified as the ringleader,'' for frequent walks.”
“Fourthly, Of the final day of judgment: all the obstinate enemies of Christ's gospel and kingdom shall certainly be reckoned with at last, for the devil, their ringleader, is judged.”
“She claimed that the ringleader was a cousin of Gadhafi and son of a government minister.”
USA Today: Libyan woman recounts gang rape by Gadhafi troops
“Zvi Goffer , a former employee at Galleon whom prosecutors called the "ringleader" of a scheme involving traders and lawyers, was found guilty of 14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud.”
“Gibbs, whom some defendants have described as the ringleader, confided to his new mates that it had been easy for him to get away with "stuff" when he served in Iraq in 2004, according to the statements.”
The Washington Post: Members of U.S. platoon in Afghanistan accused of killing civilians for sport
“As for Daniel Patrick Boyd, the so-called ringleader, he arrived in Pakistan after the Soviets 'February 1989 withdrawal.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ringleader’.
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Bad Options
words for those who commit particular crimes: i.e., bank robber, arsonist, etc.
liar, cheat, traitor, arsonist, felon, braggard, thief, profiteer, impostor, phony, fraud, culprit and 212 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Take Me To Your Whosit
About leaders, particularly the authority-figure at the top of the tree.
leader, chief, boss, cap'n, executive, president, head, tsar, alpha male, alpha female, conductor, dean and 127 more...
Tweets
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Comments
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