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

Examples of propagandist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As though the real atrocities of October 7th—when almost twelve hundred people were killed—were not enough, Israeli propagandists had promoted terrifying fictions, like the claim that Hamas fighters had beheaded Israeli babies. —Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 20 July 2024

And using the same label for a murderous, fascist tyrant (like Hitler) and an incompetent, sloppy propagandist (like Trump) makes no sense. —Kendra Stanton Lee, Newsweek, 9 July 2024

Adjective

Stamps are also used for more expressly political or propagandist purposes. —Andrea Valdez, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2024

Russia has relied on a litany of propagandist tactics to garner support and shield the reality of the war from its own population. —Caitlin McFall, Fox News, 24 May 2022

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