demagogue

noun

ˈde-mə-ˌgäg How to pronounce demagogue (audio)
variants also demagog
Definition of demagoguenext
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

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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 demagogue Trump’s statecraft is, in these respects, not the impulse of a misguided and capricious demagogue but an appropriate response to a changing world and a changing America. — Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025 Many of the systems designed to constrain just such a demagogue have failed, with deferential courts in particular having let the former and soon-to-be president skate on nakedly anti-democratic conduct. — Orlando Sentinel and New York Daily News Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2025 So when a demagogue like Trump speaks to her pain and promises to bring factories back, of course her heart leaps. — Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2024 As a result, the very outcome the founders most feared, namely election of a demagogue by a gullible cult of true-believers, has been made possible because of the Electoral College, which was originally designed to avoid precisely that outcome. — Joseph J. Ellis, The Mercury News, 31 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for demagogue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demagogue
  1. agitator
  2. firebrand
  3. proponent
  4. rebel
  5. promoter
  6. provocateur
  7. champion
  8. reformer
Noun
  • The continent’s staunchest ally and partner, the United States, has turned its back and emerged as an agitator, perhaps even an adversary.
    — Martin Gutmann, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
  • At first, the government tried to ignore the protests, then began to use force and accused the protests of being infiltrated by foreign agitators.
    — Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 4 Mar. 2025
Definition of agitator
Noun
  • The new firebrand of an acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia promises to bring sweeping changes to how the nation’s capital uses the city’s prosecutorial tools.
    — Emily Hallas, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 9 Mar. 2025
  • The firebrand Houston lawmaker’s colleagues voted 224-198 to hit him with what amounts to a slap on the wrist over his cane-waving interruption of Trump on Tuesday night.
    — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of firebrand
Noun
  • Apple has long been a vocal proponent of the sanctity of its users’ personal data.
    — Ewan Spence, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
  • George Fishman, senior legal fellow at the conservative Center of Immigration Studies and former deputy general counsel at Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration, has been a strong proponent of the act.
    — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of proponent
Noun
  • Ooh, rendezvous with the hot rebel in the forest! 50.
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Aiding the princess is a band of rebels led by the dashing Jonathan (Tony winner Andrew Burnap).
    — Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2025
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • In February 2024, Ayala announced the tour El Principio de un Final, which was not completed due to differences with the promoter.
    — Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Money usually bets on the founder, not on the promoter.
    — Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of promoter
Noun
  • While some men are jumping on board, the most popular of these creators—which range from nobodies doing voiceovers to far-right provocateurs like Candance Owens and Megyn Kelly—are women speaking to other women.
    — Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 14 Mar. 2025
  • The skepticism had some basis—Gaga really did borrow from musical provocateurs before her (the foremost being, yes, Madonna).
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of provocateur
Noun
  • Pochettino referenced his background as a native of Argentina, where scrutiny on that country’s national team, the current world champion, can turn personal and baneful.
    — Paul Tenorio, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Sean Brady silenced all but the biggest naysayers on Saturday, defeating former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC London.
    — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Definition of champion
Noun
  • Wells was a former theology student and social worker who became convinced that reform efforts would go much further if reformers were public officers with proper police credentials.
    — Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
  • By the 1970s, inured in the culture of the moment, progressive reformers were driven to do something in Baltimore and across America that many of their peers would have considered anathema a decade earlier: rein in the authority of the purportedly wise men running powerful institutions.
    — Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
Definition of reformer

Browse Nearby Words

demagogic
demagogue
demagogues
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“Demagogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demagogue. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.

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