DEMAGOGS Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

demagogues

noun

variants also demagogs

plural of demagogue

as in agitators

a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent that politician is just a demagogue who preys upon people's fears and prejudices

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of demagogues Unsheltered intertwined two plots related to the precarity of American life and the danger of demagogues—one set at the dawn of the MAGA era. — Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026 Unsheltered intertwined two plots related to the precarity of American life and the danger of demagogues — one set at the dawn of the MAGA era. — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026 This included understanding the history of democratic ideas and practical governance, as well as the need to protect minority groups and the dangers posed by demagogues. — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 1 Sep. 2026 In recent years, totalizing ideologies such as communism, fascism, and Islamism have found dedicated audiences on social media, and the proliferation of demagogues manipulating people for malign ends is an ever-present worry. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 And as Netanyahu’s coalitions hardened Schleien’s programs became edgier, skewering Netanyahu sycophants in the Likud Party, anti-élitist demagogues, cultic settlers, and rabbinic mandarins. — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026 But demeaning our brand through association with vulgar demagogues is a losing strategy. — Alma Hernandez, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026 Does the rise of right-wing demagogues offer chilling parallels to the Pinochet era? — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 22 Apr. 2026 Leftist demagogues specialize in lose-lose-lose policies. — Editorial, Boston Herald, 6 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for demagogues

Noun

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also cited agitators moving between schools to encourage violence.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Advertisement As protests intensified, state media unleashed a frenzied smear campaign, casting Egyptian protesters as foreign agents and outside agitators.

— Abdelrahman ElGendy, Time, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of agitators

Noun

The rebels recently seized more territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
The rebels urged their forces to continue fighting and called on Tigrayans to support them.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

That could explain why spinning galaxies can be held together without needing an extra source of gravity from dark matter, its proponents have argued.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
Peptide proponents argue that shoddy manufacturing — not the peptides — causes harm.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of proponents

Noun

They’re seen as oligarchs, as the people with wealth and power, controlling our lives—not as outsider insurgents.

— Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
International sanctions persisted, and PF’s ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents continued their liberation war.

— Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of insurgents

Noun

Student groups protesting since mid-September through school blockades have urged supporters to join them.

— SYLVIE CORBET, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
An hour before a ball was even kicked on Sunday afternoon, the beating of drums and chanting from the River Guard supporters group could be heard loud and clear from the locker rooms at the Boas Soccer Complex.

— Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of supporters

Noun

Two vocal supporters of Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra filed a formal campaign finance complaint against his rival, Steve Hilton, on Tuesday over the Republican campaign’s use of paid online promoters.

— Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Fears about a future AI apocalypse distract us from its present-day harms — just as its promoters hope.

— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of promoters

Noun

In a moment when voters increasingly reward populist firebrands, Becerra presents as calm, workmanlike, and maybe a little boring.

— Ben Paviour August 17, Sacbee.com, 17 Aug. 2026
If the conservative base continues to demand ideological purity, pushing polarizing firebrands into a general election, the result will always be an immediate, lopsided blowout.

— Dain Fitzgerald, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of firebrands

Noun

Feigenbaum offered a more cautious interpretation, describing some of the violent perpetrators as fringe provocateurs who exploit broader demonstrations without necessarily directing them.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Hilton’s edgy attitude and pugnacious put-downs would place him right at home among the network’s collection of trolls, provocateurs and Democrat-bashing gargoyles.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of provocateurs

Browse Nearby Words

demagogue

demagogues

demand

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Demagogues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demagogues. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of demagogues

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes