monger

1 of 2

noun

1
: broker, dealer
usually used in combination
alemonger
2
: a person who attempts to stir up or spread something that is usually petty or discreditable
usually used in combination
warmonger

monger

2 of 2

verb

mongered; mongering ˈməŋ-g(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce monger (audio)
ˈmäŋ-

Did you know?

Peddlers (especially fish merchants) have been called mongers for more than 1000 years. The term traces to a Latin noun meaning "trader." Initially, it was an honorable term, but every profession has its bad apples, and the snake-oil salesmen of the bunch gave monger a bad reputation. By the middle of the 16th century, the term often implied that a merchant was dishonorable and contemptible. Nowadays, monger is typically appended to another word to identify a trader of a particular type. Some combinations (such as fishmonger) suggest respectable commerce, whereas others (such as rumormonger, scandalmonger, and hypemonger) imply that a person is trading or spreading information in a careless or deceptive manner.

Examples of monger in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Recently, the dwindling revenues forced her to get a second job, also in fish, as a salesperson at another monger’s shop. Josh Lederman, NBC News, 1 Jan. 2024 Bedfords’ mongers tasted the trio on a few house favorites, and Kat grabbed some olives, pickles, and a wedge of Deer Creek Rattlesnake for pre-dinner snacking. Madison Trapkin, Saveur, 6 Dec. 2023 Some rumor mongers even turn a tidy buck in the process, and have reportedly gone so far as to illicitly fly drones over production lots to glean information. Herb Scribner, Washington Post, 16 Oct. 2023 The fish mongers worked with the tourism office on the Île d'Yeu to find a new home for the small female lobster. Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2023 Pskov is over 400 miles north of Ukraine, but less than an hour’s drive from the borders of Estonia and Latvia, a fact that led conspiracy mongers to claim the drones had originated from the former. Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 31 Aug. 2023 Stew Peters is a far-right media host and conspiracy monger, infamous for his unhinged film claiming Covid-19 is caused by synthetic snake venom. Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, 7 June 2023 Still, gossip mongers and suck-ups won’t go away unless managers remove the incentives to such behavior, while rewarding positive actions like collaboration. Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023 Carlson may want to take notes from Glenn Beck, a fellow conservative conspiracy monger who was also once Fox’s most popular, and most controversial, personality. Paul Farhi, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2023
Verb
Furthermore, the dispute includes implications of witchcraft, shrines – most of which are perpetuating ignorance, xenophobia and fear mongering. Shelby Stewart, Essence, 12 Jan. 2024 Jost went on, as a picture showed on screen of the disgraced Trump ally with black shoe dye running down his face during one of his post-election conspiracy mongering press conferences. William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 17 Dec. 2023 High crime and racial fear mongering is the price the little people must pay to keep the bloated government salaries and pensions going to the right people. Scott Centorino, National Review, 6 Dec. 2023 Their religion, the tenets of which are based on kindness, caring, and love is being co-opted in the name of something entirely other that derives its strength from fear mongering and obfuscation. Brent Lang, Variety, 21 Sep. 2023 Make no mistake: such fear mongering is dangerous, and puts real people's lives at risk. Wesley Lowery, CBS News, 25 June 2023 Liberal leaders and lawmakers have accused their conservative counterparts of fear mongering and misusing LGBTQ+ rights as a political wedge. Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2023 Republicans say Democrats are engaging in fear mongering and note the bill does not specify programs to be cut. Joseph Morton, Dallas News, 26 Apr. 2023 The cynical take on Altman was put forth by Brian Merchant in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times—namely, that fear-mongering about A.I., particularly about its ability to replace lots of people’s jobs, only serves to hype the power of existing technologies and OpenAI’s brand, boosting its sales. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English mongere, from Old English mangere, from Latin mangon-, mango, of Greek origin; akin to Greek manganon charm, philter

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1864, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of monger was before the 12th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near monger

Cite this Entry

“Monger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monger. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on monger

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!