populist

noun pop·u·list \ ˈpä-pyə-list \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of populist

1 : a member of a political party claiming to represent the common people; especially, often capitalized : a member of a U.S. political party formed in 1891 primarily to represent agrarian interests and to advocate the free coinage of silver and government control of monopolies

2 : a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people

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populism

play \ˈpä-pyə-ˌli-zəm\ noun

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populistic

play \ˌpä-pyə-ˈli-stik\ adjective

Recent Examples of populist from the Web

Olsen sees this as an important but normal political moment, in which the policy views of populists and conservative intellectuals need to be reconciled on issues such as trade and immigration.

— michael gerson, Anchorage Daily News, "Trumpism can’t be treated as a normal political moment," 1 Apr. 2018
From Rome to Warsaw, populists remain a potent force in Europe.

— The Economist, "Emmanuel Macron, the new Teddy Roosevelt," 22 Mar. 2018
Both Macron and Merkel have seen how far-right political populists feed off the discontent of those who feel bruised by technology, trade, and rapid societal change.

— trudy rubin, Philly.com, "Trump sells America First at Davos Forum | Trudy Rubin," 26 Jan. 2018
Kucinich is a populist, willing to say unconventional things to try to appeal to the disenfranchised.

— jason williams, Cincinnati.com, "PX column: Could guy who defends Trump, sees UFOs, meets with dictators win big Ohio race?," 27 Mar. 2018
Ironic, then, that in the national election Italy held on Sunday, Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia party was part of the Establishment against which a new generation of populists revolted.

— jonah shepp, Daily Intelligencer, "Italy’s Election Shows European Populism Isn’t Dead Yet," 7 Mar. 2018
Here as elsewhere, immigration plays well for populists, because those fearful and angry about new arrivals are ready to talk about it.

— ian bremmer, Time, "Italy’s Populists Are Stirring Up Anti-Migrant Sentiment to Win Votes. It Could Get Ugly," 1 Mar. 2018
Republican leaders also face a nascent insurgency, fueled by Trump allies, of populists who reject some of the chamber’s business concerns.

— john mccormick, Bloomberg.com, "U.S. Chamber Leader Calls Bannon and Warren Extremists," 10 Jan. 2018
But Trump campaigned in 2016 as an economic populist, blasting multinational trade deals as bad for American workers.

— deirdre shesgreen, USA TODAY, "Congressional Republicans push President Trump to soften approach on tariffs," 6 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of populist

Latin populus the people

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1891

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Government and Politics Terms

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

populist

adjective

Definition of populist

1 often capitalized : of, relating to, or characterized by populism

2 a : popular 1

Recent Examples of populist from the Web

In many places in Europe, populist parties on the far right have gained power, particularly with anti-migrant and anti-Muslim messaging that can also be anti-Semitic.

— sara miller llana, The Christian Science Monitor, "Anti-Semitism stains Labour, Corbyn again. Why does this keep happening?," 10 Apr. 2018
Bloomberg's Alessandra Migliaccio discusses the convergence of Italy's two main populist forces.

— Bloomberg, "Italy's Populist Forces Near Coalition," 5 Apr. 2018
The candidate currently leading in the polls is leftist, populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO as he's commonly known.

— rafael carranza, azcentral, "Mexico helped disperse U.S.-bound migrant caravan, but will their help continue?," 4 Apr. 2018
The far-right populist party Alternative for Germany, in particular, has long claimed that it is being censored (a tactic that helped propel it into the Bundestag for the first time last fall, when Alternative for Germany won 94 seats).

— yascha mounk, The New Republic, "Germany’s risky law for stopping hate speech on Facebook and Twitter," 3 Apr. 2018
Most fundamentally, Trump’s attacks on Amazon are in line with his populist politics.

— david z. morris, Fortune, "Here Are a Few Reasons Why Donald Trump Is Taking Aim at Amazon," 1 Apr. 2018
The populist-nationalist wing of the administration, with its apocalyptic take on international affairs, appeared to be in retreat.

— robert f. worth, New York Times, "Can Jim Mattis Hold the Line in Trump’s ‘War Cabinet’?," 26 Mar. 2018
That creates a clear opportunity for Democrats with white-collar professionals who are already recoiling from Trump on personal and cultural grounds -- and are more open toward global engagement than the GOP's populist wing.

— ronald brownstein, CNN, "Somebody should tell Democrats they've become the free trade party," 13 Mar. 2018
But as populist-nationalist Steve Mnuchin reminded the out-of-touch media Thursday, real Americans love it when the global superrich retreat to the Alps for orgies and TED Talks (while the middle class grows another day older and deeper in debt).

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Mnuchin: Davos Is Not ‘a Hangout for Globalists’," 11 Jan. 2018