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 It’s that this film seemingly treats Austen fans with disdain while attempting to pander to them. — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 27 July 2022 There’s an audacity here: meandering adolescence as rich, worthwhile subject; an unwillingness to pander to the reader’s longing for plot. — Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2022 People would still be tempted to pander to fear and anger to try to get retweets. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 26 Apr. 2022 Indeed, neither candidate seemed eager to pander in any flagrant way to voters who had supported far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round. — Arthur Goldhammer, The New Republic, 21 Apr. 2022 Today, the way to get your Average Joe or Jane to tune in to the Oscars is not to pander to him or her with an award decided on Twitter or with presenters from walks of life unrelated to the movies. — Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Apr. 2022 Preston has gone out of his way to pander to Utah election conspiracy theorists who wrongly insist there was massive election fraud, despite no actual proof. — Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 Apr. 2022 In an effort to pander to a certain type of consumer, wineries making inexpensive Chardonnay often overemphasize two specific flavors: oak and butter. — Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Mar. 2022 The dispute between Bush and Guzman is a blatant attempt to pander to Trump's far right supporters -- especially since the Texas attorney general has no authority to fund or build a wall, on the border or anywhere else in the state. — James Moore, CNN, 28 Feb. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun This is America’s political game, blame and divide, point and pander. — Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2022 Critics say this is a pander to Donald Trump, but Trump lost in 2020 under either standard. — Star Tribune, 2 June 2021 Critics say this is a pander to Donald Trump, but Mr. Trump lost in 2020 under either standard. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 31 May 2021 But of course showbiz politics won the day — and persisted through the presidencies of Democrats too, notably pander-bear Bill Clinton and dashing Barack Obama. — Virginia Heffernan Los Angeles Times, Star Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021 Unlike Trump, Napoleon did not deny the plague, pander false cures, or ignore the suffering around him. — Robert Klitzman, STAT, 25 June 2020 The giant pander-fest that is the Democratic primary is just getting started. — Michael Tanner, National Review, 28 Aug. 2019 Its initial emphasis on high fashion—and the pander to the one-percent with the five-figure versions—seemed a bit tone-deaf. — Steven Levy, WIRED, 27 June 2019 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, 14 Mar. 2018 See More

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.