demagogue

noun dem·a·gogue \ ˈde-mə-ˌgäg \

variants: or less commonly demagog

|Updated on: 29 May 2018

Examples: demagogue in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of demagogue

1 : a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power

2 : a leader championing the cause of the common people in ancient times

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demagoguery

play \-ˌgä-g(ə-)rē\ noun

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demagogy

play \-ˌgä-gē, -ˌgä-jē, -ˌgō-jē\ noun

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Examples of demagogue in a Sentence

Like other good Whigs, they had assumed that the people, once free of English influence, would honor and elevate the country's true patriots and natural aristocracy in ways that the English Crown had not. But when in the decades following the Revolution the people seemed to succumb to the deceit and flattery of mushroom demagogues, who were the popular counterparts of courtiers, the Federalists became bewildered and bitter. —Gordon S. Wood, Revolutionary Characters, 2006
Before the U.S. could begin to help Haiti rebuild its ravaged democracy last week, it first had to remove a raving demagogue. —Tim Padgett et al., Time, 15 Mar. 2004
Here's the background: Tennessee's finances are a mess. The state is facing a shortfall of some $310 million—but legislators remember what happened last year when they considered imposing the first income tax on wages. Goaded by talk-radio demagogues, hundreds of citizens surrounded the Statehouse in a near riot. —Editor & Publisher, 4 Feb. 2002
His opponent called him a bigoted demagogue.
that politician is just a demagogue who preys upon people's fears and prejudices

Recent Examples of demagogue from the Web

After all, this was the man who taught an entire generation that the truth can’t prevent a demagogue from getting his way, a lesson that is once again pertinent.

— New York Times, "That Feeling When You Miss the Early 2000s," 8 May 2018
What is worth pondering is how a demagogue of Hitler’s malign skill might more effectively exploit flaws in American democracy.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "How American Racism Influenced Hitler," 23 Apr. 2018
Lula’s jailing is a blow for Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing demagogue who portrays himself as the antithesis of Lula.

— The Economist, "Lula goes to jail," 8 Apr. 2018
With another term now in hand, Orban has become one of the continent's most potent illiberal demagogues, bending the state to his favor and eroding the country's fledgling democratic norms.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The pope’s challenge to Orban and Europe’s far right," 10 Apr. 2018
When the people rule, rather than demagogues and military generals, a country can enjoy freedom and prosperity.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "An election so normal it’s a benchmark," 4 Apr. 2018
In the 1930s, the populist demagogue Huey Long popularized the concept as part of his Share Our Wealth plan — a far-left alternative to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "The Radical Proposal That Moderate Democrats Should Be Running On," 22 Mar. 2018
This imbalance, depicted in the leaking of factory jobs out to China while corporate treasuries fill with money, angers people enough that a demagogue promising to bring back their jobs could get a foothold.

— david dayen, The New Republic, "Trump’s Theater of Trade," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'demagogue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

When the ancient Greeks used dēmagōgos (from dēmos, meaning "people," and agein, "to lead") they meant someone good-a leader who used outstanding oratorical skills to further the interests of the common people. Mid-17th-century writers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Dryden-and, later, Jonathan Swift-employed the English word that way. But, at the same time, the word took a negative turn, coming to suggest one who uses powers of persuasion to sway and mislead. "A plausible, insignificant word, in the mouth of an expert demagogue, is a dangerous and a dreadful weapon," declared Robert South, known for his sermons, in 1716.

Origin and Etymology of demagogue

borrowed from Greek dēmagōgós, from dêmos "people" + -agōgos "leading, impelling" — more at demo-, -agogue

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1648

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

demagogue Synonyms

Synonyms

agitator, exciter, firebrand, fomenter, incendiary, inciter, instigator, kindler, provocateur, rabble-rouser;

Near Antonyms

peacemaker, reconciler, uniter;

advocate, apostle, backer, booster, champion, exponent, persuader, promoter, proponent, reformer, reformist, supporter;

alarmist, extremist, insurgent, insurrectionist, radical, rebel, revolter, revolutionary, revolutionist, subversive, troublemaker;

prodder, prompter, provoker;

agent provocateur;

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

demagogue

verb dem·a·gogue \ ˈde-mə-ˌgäg \

variants: or less commonly demagog

Definition of demagogue

demagogued also demagoged; demagoguing also demagoging

intransitive verb

: to behave like a demagogue

transitive verb

: to treat (something, such as an issue) in the manner of a demagogue

Examples of demagogue in a Sentence

But Clinton's boldness seemed to work, at least within the Beltway. House Republicans mostly stifled the urge to demagogue against his plan. —Tom Morganthau et al., Newsweek, 11 Dec. 1995