pander

verb

pan·der | \ ˈpan-dər

pandered; pandering\ ˈpan-d(ə-)riŋ

Definition of pander

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to act as a pander especially : to provide gratification for others' desires films that pander to the basest emotions … used his brilliant gifts to pander to popular taste. — Hubert Saal

pander

noun

Definition of pander (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : a go-between in love intrigues

b : pimp

2 : someone who caters to or exploits the weaknesses of others

Other Words from pander Synonyms Distinctive Meanings of Procure More Example Sentences Learn More about pander

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Synonyms for pander

Synonyms: Noun

cadet [slang], fancy man, pimp, procurer

Distinctive Meanings of Procure

Procure, like many other English words, has a split personality. On the one hand, it may carry a perfectly benign meaning, such as "to obtain" (“she procured supplies”) or "to bring about" (“the settlement was successfully procured”). On the other hand, it has long been used in the specific sense of obtaining someone for, or bringing about, sexually promiscuous purposes. In this regard it is similar to the word pander, which entered the English language with the innocent meaning “a go-between in love intrigues” (the word comes from the name Pandare, a character in Chaucer’s poem Troilus and Criseyde who facilitates the affair between the titular characters), and soon after took on the meaning “pimp.”

Examples of pander in a Sentence

Noun

an arrest record that revealed that he had variously been a pander, a pickpocket, and a drug dealer

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Photo: Getty Images; Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images CIAO, STREETWEAR With a few exceptions, designers showing in New York resisted pandering to millennials. — Ray A. Smith, WSJ, "Back to the ’80s? No, It’s Spring Fashion," 15 Sep. 2018 Anything that encourages candidates to spend more time doing on-the-ground organizing and less time pandering to the superrich is probably a good thing, on balance. — Lee Drutman, Vox, "One big winner last night: political reform," 7 Nov. 2018 There’s nothing about Venom that feels particularly tailored to or pandering to China, unlike many other films that have courted the country’s interest. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "China has helped Venom become an $822 million box office success," 26 Nov. 2018 By filming the first three seasons on location in Colombia, with almost all dialogue in Spanish, the creators have never pandered to a late-night Saturday shoot-’em-up crowd. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, "The Last Kingdom," 21 Nov. 2018 Nguyen, 29, Ion Bivol, 30, of Huntington Beach, Ngoc Bao Nguyen, 28, and Quynh Thuy Nguyen, 33, both of Santa Ana, all were charged with seven counts of pimping and seven counts of pandering in 2015, court records show. — Hannah Fry, latimes.com, "Huntington Beach woman pleads guilty to pimping women at massage parlors," 28 June 2018 While, in the early-1990s, Top 40 pandered to 25–34-year-olds and ended up pleasing nobody. — Sean Ross, Billboard, "Radio's Mother & Daughter Reunion Is Needed, But Looks to Be More Than a Moment Away," 3 May 2018 In an era of brute-force micro-messaging, partisanship trumps statesmanship, pandering trumps policymaking. — Nicholas Carr, chicagotribune.com, "Is Facebook the problem with Facebook, or is it us?," 10 July 2018 Though armed with enough gore and pandering violence to enjoy some success with moviegoers who haven't yet been burned by star Bruce Willis' many recent flops, this generic attempt at a franchise reboot deserves to be killed. — John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Death Wish': Film Review," 2 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Trump announced his steel and aluminum tariffs in the campaign’s final days, the most microtargeted pander to Rust Belt voters imaginable. — Frank Rich, Daily Intelligencer, "The Hidden Logic of Trump’s Staff Exodus," 14 Mar. 2018 More like a pander-stretch on a non-issue in an election year. — John Baer, Philly.com, "'The stretch,' politically speaking, by Trump, Stack, Wagner, Leach & others," 23 Jan. 2018 Rather than being greeted as an honest attempt to reach out to a voting group that overwhelmingly dislikes him, the taco bowl post was widely mocked as an obvious, ham-fisted pander. — Farhad Manjoo, New York Times, "Twitter, Trump’s Trusty Weapon, Could Backfire," 18 May 2016

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

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More Definitions for pander

pander

verb

English Language Learners Definition of pander

: to do or provide what someone wants or demands even though it is not proper, good, or reasonable

pander

transitive verb

pan·der | \ ˈpan-dər

Legal Definition of pander

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to sell or distribute by pandering had no protected right to pander prurient materials — Dunigan Enterprises v. DA for the Northern District, 415 N.E.2d 251 (1981)

intransitive verb

: to engage in pandering counts included…conspiracy to pander and receive the earnings of a prostitute — State v. Tocco, 750 P.2d 874 (1988)