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
When the populist demagogue Willie Stark orders Burden, journalist turned gumshoe, to dig up dirt on a local judge, Burden demurs; certainly there are no skeletons in the office of the good judge.
—
Brenda Wineapple,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Certainly Arendt, who lived through arguably darker times, did not see them as merely a product of the era’s monstrous demagogues.
—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, bias incidents and assaults against Asian Americans soared to alarming heights as demagogues on the streets and in high office inflamed xenophobic fear and animosity.
—
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.
—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demagogue
Brenda Wineapple,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Certainly Arendt, who lived through arguably darker times, did not see them as merely a product of the era’s monstrous demagogues.
—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, bias incidents and assaults against Asian Americans soared to alarming heights as demagogues on the streets and in high office inflamed xenophobic fear and animosity.
—
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.
—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demagogue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demagogue
Noun
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Videos showed police beating back agitators with batons and deploying anti-riot ordnance as the demonstrators chanted against the country's conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a massive political rally.
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White attributed most of the hateful comments to online agitators rather than true WNBA or Indiana Fever fans.
Noun
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The Bongino Report, the website of the right-wing firebrand who would eventually serve a brief term as deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, claimed that Check My Ads was violating tax rules.
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Now, the right-wing firebrand has managed to win the backing of at least four billionaires as of May 6, according to the latest available election data—including the CEO and cofounder of Kalshi.
Noun
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Gillespie also has a reputation for melding music to movies, as seen in Cruella, his 2021 movie that cast Disney villainess Cruella de Vil as a punk rock rebel in London’s fashion scene.
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The winner is the daughter of the late Alberto Fujimori, the former president whose government in the 1990s defeated the Shining Path extremist rebel group but also took an authoritarian turn.
Noun
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As genetics, psychology, and neuroscience ascended, the twentieth century sent physiognomy back into disrepute, and today, from Lavater to Lombroso, its promoters may seem a racist shade of quaint.
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During The Huns’ audition at the Cellar, Nugent was standing next to club owner/promoter Paul Sampson, who was skeptical of the group’s Catholic schoolboy looks — braces, short haircuts and all.
Noun
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Stream-access proponents took a similar approach in 2010, after a landowner on the Taylor River strung cables from bank to bank to keep a rafting company from floating down.
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There isn't time for proponents to get a new measure on this year's ballot and state law requires any measures brought in odd years be limited to questions related to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).
Noun
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The Onion is pressing ahead with its takeover of InfoWars, the conspiracy-laden media empire formerly owned by far-right provocateur Alex Jones.
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The height of her popularity came during her 12-year relationship with French provocateur Serge Gainsbourg.
Noun
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Gray is endorsed by Kansas City’s branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, and represents the insurgent left flank of the Democratic Party in the race.
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Out went what was left of country-club Republicanism; in came the Fifth Avenue insurgent and his MAGA hordes.
Noun
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Seven Mountains has brought the language of spiritual warfare and demon-fighting into the mainstream of evangelicalism, through a network of pastors who view themselves as prophets and apostles engaged in a battle against evil secular forces.
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Sheiner also appeared as the apostle James the Elder in George Stevens’ The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and had a meaty turn as Guido Lorenz, cop and partner of Charles Bronson’s Det.
Cite this Entry
“Demagogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demagogue. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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