-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
Examples of bread and circuses in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
So part of this is a kind of bread and circuses campaign, right?
—The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 27 Sep. 2023
But Close paints an evocative portrait of the varied and ambiguous roles sports can play in an autocracy, where a regime’s reliance on bread and circuses may eventually wear thin in the absence of genuine progress.
—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2020
The Romans are famous for offering bread and circuses to their underprivileged citizens.
—Serenity Gibbons, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022
Who can resist the tempting spread of digital bread and circuses, birds and cake?
—Kc Cole, Wired, 22 Dec. 2021
De Blasio’s music-for-the-masses project comes terribly close to other progressive notions for making American life more socialist; urging people to think of themselves as masses is simple bread and circuses.
—Armond White, National Review, 20 Aug. 2021
The turmoil of the past year will fade into memory as the bread and circuses of ordinary life return to divert us.
—Jeff Stanard, National Review, 27 July 2021
In the Roman tradition of bread and circuses, sports were expected to placate the troubled population.
—Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Mar. 2021
Democrats are betting this round of bread and circuses will win them the 2022 midterms.
—Karl Rove, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bread and circuses.' 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
translation of Latin panis et circenses
First Known Use
1872, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of bread and circuses was
in 1872
Dictionary Entries Near bread and circuses
Cite this Entry
“Bread and circuses.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bread%20and%20circuses. Accessed 31 May. 2024.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share