populist

1 of 2

noun

pop·​u·​list ˈpä-pyə-list How to pronounce populist (audio)
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
populism noun
populistic adjective

populist

2 of 2

adjective

1
often capitalized : of, relating to, or characterized by populism
2

Examples of populist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Today, the same question arises about taking power out of the hands of Poland’s national populists. Foreign Affairs, 12 Mar. 2024 Part of the explanation, analysts said, was that dark memories of a right-wing dictatorship that fell in 1974 kept populists at bay. Catarina Fernandes Martins, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Right-leaning populists and politicians, and Elon Musk, are mounting a backlash against businesses that look beyond profits—but Standard Chartered’s CEO Bill Winters doesn’t care. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 Trump’s Republican Party today is conservative, nativist and populist. Rich Karlgaard, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The idea was both avant-garde and populist, breaking down the hierarchies and theatrical heightening of modern dance. Brian Seibert, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 Much to the chagrin of the radical populists on the left and right alike, Trump’s economic policies were, by and large, profoundly banal. Noah Rothman, National Review, 2 Feb. 2024 The answer is in part to be found in a fact that Frum notes but finds puzzling: that active bigotry in Wilson’s era was more commonly found among progressives and economic populists than among classically liberal conservatives such as Lodge. Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024 This would embolden populists and Euroskeptic parties. Arancha González Laya, Foreign Affairs, 2 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Biden is betting that this populist approach will set him apart from his predecessor (and rival) Donald Trump, whose 2017 tax cuts dramatically reduced the government’s income. Byirina Ivanova, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 In his speech to Congress — and on the campaign trail — Biden has used taxes as a populist device, drawing a contrast between his plan to expand services for the working and middle classes and Trump’s tax law, which mainly benefited the wealthy and corporations. Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024 Critics worry that the populist Chega party is giving new life to the ideology of Portugal’s bygone dictatorship. Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Mar. 2024 Biden used a familiar populist line from the stump about shifting more cost savings to those on the lower-income side, at the expense of the top 1%. Deirdre Walsh, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 With the rise of the ruling United Russia party, the remaining major parties—the Communist Party and Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s populist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia—became appendages of the Kremlin. Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024 By André, Mestre means André Ventura, the populist former football pundit at the helm of Portugal’s radical right-wing party, Chega. Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 Porter struck a populist tone, promising to stand up to corporate influence in Washington. Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 In November 2021, Modi’s announcement that the controversial laws would be repealed was widely seen as a win for the farmers and a rare retreat by the populist leader. Krutika Pathi, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'populist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Latin populus the people

First Known Use

Noun

1891, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of populist was in 1891

Dictionary Entries Near populist

Cite this Entry

“Populist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/populist. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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