gadfly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A gadfly candidate for mayor of Chicago, Lar Daly, secured a quirky FCC ruling.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

The publication was founded in 1955 by the legendary gadfly William F. Buckley Jr. as a salon for the various right-leaning fraternities in American life: fire-eating libertarians, orthodox Catholics, conspiratorial anti-communists.

From Slate • Apr. 25, 2025

For decades, he also relished his role as a brutally insulting critic — sometimes of the bands he worked with — and a gadfly who pushed uncomfortable buttons about race, politics and sex.

From New York Times • May 14, 2024

“These characters who flit in and out .... are mostly there to be disruptive. They enjoy it.” said Eric Preven, a gadfly whose running commentary is pointed yet civil.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2023

Concluding that economics, not politics, held the key to black success in America, Moore started a new career as a corporate gadfly, disrupting stockholders' meetings with pointed questions about racial policies and hiring practices.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson