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.
Fleming, meanwhile, hasn’t had much to spend, and has always been somewhat of a gadfly going back to his years in the House of Representatives.
From Slate • May 16, 2026
“LLMs themselves are more or less just as unreliable as they were ever,” says AI researcher and gadfly Gary Marcus.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
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
Aside from labeling the diatribes as “off topic,” there was little the supervisors could do to stop Herman, 56, an infamous gadfly at both L.A. city and county meetings.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2023
I had moved from the role of a gadfly within the organization to one of the powers that I had been rebelling against.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Vocabulary lists containing gadfly
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
