Meanings
nounsaboteur (plural saboteurs)
plural saboteurs
- A person who intentionally causes the destruction of property in order to hinder the efforts of their enemy.
The condemnation of 'Menshevizing idealists' and mechanists led to a flood of articles and dissertations whose authors echoed the party decrees and vied with one another in expressing indignation at the insidious plots of the philosophical saboteurs.
1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume III: The Breakdown, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozkład (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 74Synonyms: sabotageur
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person who intentionally causes the destruction of property in order to hinder the efforts of their enemy.
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nounsomeone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks
Similar
nouna member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
Similar
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Frenchsavate
- Frenchsabot
- Frenchsaboter
- Frenchsaboteur
- Englishsaboteur
Borrowed from French saboteur.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُخَرِّب
- مُخَرِّب (muḵarrib)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Bulgarian саботьо́р, саботьо́рка
- саботьо́р (sabotjór)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- саботьо́рка (sabotjórka)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- диверса́нт (diversánt)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- диверса́нтка (diversántka)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Catalan sabotejador
- sabotejadora person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Chinese Mandarin 蓄意破壞者 /蓄意破坏者, 陰謀分子 /阴谋分子
- 蓄意破壞者 /蓄意破坏者 (xùyì pòhuài zhě)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- 陰謀分子 /阴谋分子 (yīnmóu fēnzǐ)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- 陰謀破壞者 /阴谋破坏者 (yīnmóu pòhuài zhě)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Czech sabotér, sabotérka
- sabotéra person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotérkaa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Danish sabotør
- sabotøra person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Dutch saboteur
- saboteura person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Esperanto sabotanto, sabotulo
- sabotantoa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotuloa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Estonian sabotöör, saboteerija
- sabotööra person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- saboteerijaa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- diversanta person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Finnish sabotööri, sabotoija
- sabotööria person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotoijaa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
French saboteur, saboteuse
- saboteura person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- saboteusea person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
German Saboteur, Saboteurin
- Saboteura person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- Saboteurina person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Greek δολιοφθορέας, σαμποτέρ
- δολιοφθορέας (doliofthoréas)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- σαμποτέρ (sampotér)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Hebrew מְחַבֵּל
- מְחַבֵּל (m'khabél)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Hungarian szabotőr
- szabotőra person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Italian sabotatore, sabotatrice
- sabotatorea person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotatricea person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Japanese サボタージ員, 妨業員
- サボタージ員 (sabotājiin)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- 妨業員 (bōgyōin)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- 妨害工作員 (bōgaikōsakuin)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- 破壊者 (hakaisha)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Korean 파괴자, 사보타주 하는 사람
- 파괴자 (pagoeja)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- 사보타주 하는 사람 (sabotaju haneun saram)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Latvian sabotieris, diversants
- sabotierisa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- diversantsa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Lithuanian sabotažininkas, sabotuotojas
- sabotažininkasa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotuotojasa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- diversantasa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Norwegian Bokmål sabotør
- sabotøra person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Persian خرابکار, مخرب
- خرابکار (xarâbkâr)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- مخرب (moxarreb)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Polish sabotażysta, sabotażystka
- sabotażystaa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotażystkaa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- dywersanta person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- dywersantkaa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Portuguese sabotador
- sabotadora person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Romanian sabotor, sabotoare
- sabotora person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotoarea person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Russian сабота́жник, сабота́жница
- сабота́жник (sabotážnik)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- сабота́жница (sabotážnica)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- диверса́нт (diversánt)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- диверса́нтка (diversántka)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- вреди́тель (vredítelʹ)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- вреди́тельница (vredítelʹnica)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Slovak sabotér, sabotérka
- sabotéra person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- sabotérkaa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Spanish saboteador, saboteadora
- saboteadora person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- saboteadoraa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Swedish sabotör
- sabotöra person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Thai ผู้ก่อวินาศกรรม
- ผู้ก่อวินาศกรรมa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Turkish sabotajcı
- sabotajcıa person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Ukrainian сабота́жник, сабота́жниця
- сабота́жник (sabotážnyk)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- сабота́жниця (sabotážnycja)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- диверса́нт (dyversánt)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
- диверса́нтка (dyversántka)a person who intentionally causes the destruction of property
Cite this entry
APA
saboteur. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saboteur
MLA
“saboteur.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saboteur. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saboteur,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saboteur.
Source: saboteur on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.