ideologue

noun

ideo·​logue ˈī-dē-ə-ˌlȯg How to pronounce ideologue (audio)
-ˌläg
variants or less commonly idealogue
1
: an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology
2
: an impractical idealist : theorist

Examples of ideologue in a Sentence

as long as there are ideologues controlling both sides of the aisle, legislative compromise is out of the question the revolutionaries proved to be impractical ideologues who had no idea how to run a country
Recent Examples on the Web
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All of Madrid’s eight Champions League trophies this century have been won by coaches renowned more as man-managers than tactical ideologues — two under Vicente del Bosque, three each with Zinedine Zidane and Ancelotti. Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025 Meanwhile the Magisterium has come under the control of one Marcel Delamare, an ideologue who establishes a quasi-fascist regime in Britain. Lev Grossman, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2025 Virtually everything that happened in the debate reinforced these factors that are allowing an otherwise inexperienced ideologue to cruise to victory. Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Oct. 2025 The key point is that consumers should be able to decide for themselves what kind of bags or straws to use, not the government and ideologues who want to impose their preferences on everyone else. Daren Bakst, Boston Herald, 14 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ideologue

Word History

Etymology

French idéologue, back-formation from idéologie

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of ideologue was in 1815

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Cite this Entry

“Ideologue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideologue. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

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