propagandist

1 of 2

noun

pro·​pa·​gan·​dist ˌprä-pə-ˈgan-dist 

ˌprō-

plural propagandists

: someone who produces or spreads propaganda : a person who spreads ideas, facts, or allegations deliberately to further a cause or to damage an opposing cause

left-wing/right-wing propagandists

From the mid-1860s on through the 1870s, Jesse had the help of a propagandist, a former Confederate major named John Newman Edwards, who switched to journalism and did all he could to promote Jesse as a kind of rebel knight errant.

—Larry McMurtry

propagandist

2 of 2

adjective

variants or propagandistic

ˌprä-pə-ˌgan-ˈdi-stik 

ˌprō-

: of, relating to, or being propaganda : characterized by ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further a cause or to damage an opposing cause

propagandist rhetoric

propagandistic art

"… I like Jacques-Louis David a lot, too, although he was a propagandist painter. …"

—Bob Dylan

Accompanying text reported the outstanding political and economic achievements of the Party and detailed propagandistic speeches at length.

—Linda Jensen

Yes, this film is propagandist in nature, but is at the same time a documentary.

—Matt Campbell

propagandistically

ˌprä-pə-ˌgan-ˈdi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌprō-

adverb

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At first glance, Griff is Public Enemy’s sideshow attraction, a propagandist agitating in service of a savvy marketing strategy. —John Leland, SPIN, 25 Feb. 2023

Hu Xijin, a top party propagandist, senses dangers in all the demands for an apology. —Li Yuan, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2022

The newly stagnant West, both as an artist and as a propagandist, keeps reaching for clichés. Sign up for The Daily. Receive the best of The New Yorker, every day, in your in-box. —Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2022

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a propagandist for the regime. —Joe Lieberman, WSJ, 10 Aug. 2022

After his capture, Khalifa identified himself to multiple news outlets as the mysterious propagandist. —Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2021

As the country's chief propagandist, Kim Yo Jong was already an important political figure and is known to be one of Kim Jong Un's most powerful and trusted confidantes. —Aj Willingham, CNN, 30 Sep. 2021

Legendary suffragettes went to trial there, as did a Nazi propagandist. —Nina Ruggiero, Travel + Leisure, 28 May 2021

Just two weeks after the election, Bannon teamed up with Amy Kremer, a longtime political operative who chaired the Tea Party Express PAC as Bannon was making his mark as the chief propagandist for the Tea Party movement. —Adele M. Stan, The New Republic, 10 Mar. 2021

Adjective

Despite Putin’s efforts to restrict rights, his ability to control the narrative in Russia through propagandist tools has paid off. —Caitlin Mcfall, Fox News, 1 Sep. 2022

To read or view the manipulative domestic coverage of the assault on Ukraine is to walk through a looking glass into a propagandist world of Russian heroes and Ukrainian nationalist villains. —Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2022

Instead, the Chinese film industry is taking a more populist and propagandist direction that is less attractive to overseas festivals. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Sep. 2021

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from French propagandiste, from propagande propaganda + -iste -ist entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1792, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1824, in the meaning defined above