keyboard warrior
noun1
Internet, Derogatory A person who behaves aggressively or in an inflammatory manner in online textbased discussion media, but does not behave similarly in real life, potentially due to cowardice, introversion or shyness.
- Near-synonyms: keyboard cowboy, chronically online, terminally online
- According to these keyboard warriors, the young men and women who survived the shooting are part of a big hoax, are liars, are mere cardboard cutouts – “crisis actors” who roam the country looking for mass shootings from which to promote their anti-gun message – all being pushed forward by the giant liberal machine that is Hillary Clinton’s robot attack army.2018 February 21, Jeff Pearlman, “Parkland students, ignore the idiots”, in CNN:
1 more example
- Others are newer converts who have only a vague idea how it all connects. There are law-abiding keyboard warriors as well as violent, unhinged radicals.2021 January 17, Kevin Roose, “A QAnon ‘Digital Soldier’ Marches On, Undeterred by Theory’s Unraveling”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 17 Jan 2021:
- Related terms
- keyboard army