demagogue

noun

ˈde-mə-ˌgäg How to pronounce demagogue (audio)
variants also demagog
Definition of demagoguenext
as in agitator
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent that politician is just a demagogue who preys upon people's fears and prejudices

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of demagogue In recent years, totalizing ideologies such as communism, fascism, and Islamism have found dedicated audiences on social media, and the proliferation of demagogues manipulating people for malign ends is an ever-present worry. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 And as Netanyahu’s coalitions hardened Schleien’s programs became edgier, skewering Netanyahu sycophants in the Likud Party, anti-élitist demagogues, cultic settlers, and rabbinic mandarins. — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026 The Constitution was crafted out of fear — fear of concentrated power, factional dominance, corruption, demagogues, unchecked executives, and the use of public office for personal gain. — Paul Oestreicher, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2026 But demeaning our brand through association with vulgar demagogues is a losing strategy. — Alma Hernandez, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for demagogue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demagogue
  1. agitator
  2. firebrand
  3. rebel
  4. promoter
  5. proponent
  6. provocateur
  7. insurgent
  8. apostle
Noun
  • Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also cited agitators moving between schools to encourage violence.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Advertisement As protests intensified, state media unleashed a frenzied smear campaign, casting Egyptian protesters as foreign agents and outside agitators.
    — Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of agitator
Noun
  • Then the rise of talk radio, fueled by right-wing firebrand Limbaugh, and the advent of cable TV, especially Fox News and MSNBC (now MS NOW), started to balkanize the media landscape.
    — Edward Robert McClelland, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Acton holds a narrow edge over Republican firebrand Vivek Ramaswamy, while Kaptur is contending with a tough reelection battle after Ohio Republicans redrew the boundaries of the longtime congresswoman’s district to pull in more GOP voters.
    — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of firebrand
Noun
  • The latest conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis began last month after the rebels seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway for oil shipments.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The latest conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis began last month after the rebels seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway for Gulf oil shipments.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • Last year, the company dipped its toes into the live events world, serving as the promoter for boy group P1Harmony’s tour — the boy group is slated to perform Saturday at 82World.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Before long, a promoter recruited her for his stable of touring female wrestlers.
    — Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of promoter
Noun
  • The billionaire tax fight grew more contentious last month after the lead proponent of the measure, SEIU UHW President Dave Regan, was accused of harassing female colleagues and threatening other union leaders to urge them to back the measure.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The biggest proponent of Proposition NN is the Colorado Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.
    — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of proponent
Noun
  • Feigenbaum offered a more cautious interpretation, describing some of the violent perpetrators as fringe provocateurs who exploit broader demonstrations without necessarily directing them.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Mungiu’s prickly, nonjudgmental studies of human behavior have sometimes led him to be branded as a provocateur.
    — Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of provocateur
Noun
  • Raman, who now occupies the insurgent role in the race, seemed to see the fires less as an indictment of the system than of Bass.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Rwanda has acknowledged defensive “security coordinationâ€� with the M23 insurgents, who have held large swaths of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo for more than a year.
    — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of insurgent
Noun
  • Despite the church’s efforts, male Catholic bishops whose identities have not been publicly revealed later ordained two of the women as bishops with the aim of preserving the line of succession from Jesus’ apostles to present-day bishops.
    — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Every night, after Jesus died on the cross, my apostles gently helped me down from the chain-link fence to which I had been lashed.
    — Victor Garber, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of apostle

Browse Nearby Words

demagogic
demagogue
demagogues
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Cite this Entry

“Demagogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demagogue. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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