monkeywrencher
monkeywrencher Lexical Profile
monkeywrencher Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A person who engages in sabotage or destructive activism, particularly the disabling of machinery or property, to protest or prevent environmental degradation.
"The logging operation was halted for several weeks after an anonymous monkeywrencher poured sand into the fuel tanks of the bulldozers."
Word Nuance & Usage
The term is heavily associated with radical environmentalism and eco-sabotage, often carrying a controversial or politically charged connotation depending on the speaker's perspective on direct action.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the idiom 'to throw a monkey wrench in the works' (meaning to sabotage). It was popularized specifically in the context of radical environmental activism by Edward Abbey's 1975 novel 'The Monkey Wrench Gang'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.