variants
also demagog
as in agitator
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demagogue
In fact, the term itself was an epithet throughout the founding era, a way to describe ignorant and easily deceived popular majorities, perpetually vulnerable to demagogues.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
That’s in no way a movement that could sweep the midterms and then be harnessed by a charismatic demagogue to remake an entire political party.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
Their innovation is to replace the demagogue’s roar with the bureaucrat’s moral superiority.
—Alexis Coe, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
America seems unlikely to be made great again by the demagogues of white nationalism, who cannot help but channel fury over irreversible decline at those who have been working hard, through either literal or spiritual immigration, to become American.
—Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demagogue
Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
That’s in no way a movement that could sweep the midterms and then be harnessed by a charismatic demagogue to remake an entire political party.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
Their innovation is to replace the demagogue’s roar with the bureaucrat’s moral superiority.
—Alexis Coe, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
America seems unlikely to be made great again by the demagogues of white nationalism, who cannot help but channel fury over irreversible decline at those who have been working hard, through either literal or spiritual immigration, to become American.
—Pankaj Mishra, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for demagogue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demagogue
Noun
-
Agents sprayed pepper balls and tear gas toward a nearby crowd of agitators as the altercation continued, though the man was ultimately released.—
Greg Wehner , Matt Finn,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
This is why, apart from rhetoric, the MAGA crowd insists there must be outside money, outside organization, outside agitators here.—
Katherine Packert Burke,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Trump’s proposal echoes a long-standing push by progressive Democrats and a few conservative firebrands on Capitol Hill to implement credit card interest rate caps, which would limit the fee a card issuer can charge consumers who carry a balance past their due date.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
The Hill,
15 Jan. 2026
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While Collier and Stewart have accepted the duty to be labor firebrands, one of their UConn teammates, Morgan Tuck, is making her mark on the management side, as the youngest GM in the WNBA.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Annabeth and Grover tell Percy that Chiron has returned, Luke has vanished, and the monsters and rebels have been driven away from the camp.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Dylan The ultimate high school rebel with a heart of gold.—
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal,
Parents,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The friend who went to the nightclub with Rodriguez, and was at the apartment while she was raped, confronted the promoter who first invited them to the club the next day, according to the lawsuit.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
29 Jan. 2026
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The tour will be a nostalgia rush filled with era-defining hits, as the tour’s promoter Live Nation describes it.—
Rashad Alexander,
Kansas City Star,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But proponents of the industry claim that the environmental costs still net out as a plus since the space data centers take processing off the fossil-fuel-burning grid.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
-
One of the biggest proponents of the capri resurgence, the supermodel has been making a stylish case for cropped pants since last summer—and her latest iteration takes the divisive Noughties silhouette into Italian girl style territory.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In 1988, when the Sun-Times sports section was seeking a provocateur, Boers was the choice.—
Phil Rosenthal,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Local far-right provocateur David Pettinger attended the Wednesday hearing to air rumors that swirled online that the bill was backed by Israel, which is thousands of miles away.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Israel — home to more Holocaust survivors than any other country — marks its remembrance day, Yom HaShoah, on the anniversary of the April 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, emphasizing the heroism of the Jewish insurgents who resisted the Nazi terror.—
Vanessa Gera,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
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According to two senior government officials, the Canadian armed forces were drafting insurgent-like tactics mirroring those used by the Taliban to fight back against the US invasion of Afghanistan.—
Joe Wilkins Published Jan 21,
Futurism,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Now in full force, filling the choral terrace, the Dallas Symphony Chorus sang stirringly, although, as Walton intended, a smaller contingent of the singers evoked the praise of prophets, apostles and martyrs.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Jan. 2026
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The story begins when the apostle Paul, who spread Jesus’ gospel more than any other follower in early Christianity, visits the city of Iconium, in modern-day Turkey.—
Christy Cobb,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demagogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demagogue. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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