How to Use populism in a Sentence

populism

noun
  • Nor is populism or distrust of elites new.
    — James B. Steinberg, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
  • Some would call this bending to populism.
    — Julian Baron, Baltimore Sun, 16 Feb. 2026
  • But this kind of populism does not have a track record of success for the left.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026
  • Trump’s right-wing populism has found echoes in Britain for a long time.
    — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
  • That’s Pierre Poilievre’s populism.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026
  • But the genie of populism is now out of the bottle and there is no going back.
    — Jeff Kingston, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Our populism thrived on promises of welfare.
    — Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The shock since 2007 ushered in this age of populism.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Let’s start with the premise that Democrats cannot afford to be outflanked on populism again.
    — Matt K. Lewis, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
  • And that’s why populism is not only an American thing.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The mood is, rather, a celebration of the triumph of populism.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The idea that the economy is rigged and zero-sum is leading to a rise in populism in both parties.
    — Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 30 Nov. 2025
  • This horseshoe celebration of populism flatters the left and right alike.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • And this kind of populism probably takes him maximally to thirty per cent of the vote, which could be enough.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 8 May 2026
  • Hilton’s populism is grounded in an argument less about feelings than about objective fact.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 30 May 2026
  • Meanwhile, the political climate has shifted with the rise of right-wing populism.
    — Bloomberg News, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Nationalism and populism were on the rise, and many people felt that the globalization of the day had not worked for them.
    — Literary Hub, 27 May 2026
  • So, as his voters begin to be more skeptical of him, will that energize the left with their own version of populism?
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 18 Nov. 2025
  • Jim then says something along the lines of how fascism, nationalism and populism never returned again.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Whoever takes the helm will need to tackle voter frustration with cost-of-living issues and the rise of right-wing populism.
    — William Pesek, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • As an emotional wedge issue, Israel is ideal for this trans-spectrum populism.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026
  • Often, those constraints are shed with the thought that populism will become a larger factor in what films are nominated.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Fuentes champions a racist vision of national populism.
    — George Michael, The Conversation, 19 Dec. 2025
  • In turn, Mahan says his candidacy is an antidote to the populism on the right that is now matched by populism on the left.
    — The Sacramento Bee Staff, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026
  • These wins made her one of the most popular leaders in the region and a success story for mixing populism with pragmatism.
    — Ioan Grillo, Time, 15 Apr. 2026
  • The pyramid’s retro aesthetic aligns neatly with a broader rhetoric of nostalgia and visual populism.
    — Debbie Millman, STAT, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Drezner, Krebs, and Schweller assert that grand strategy is more difficult in an age of populism.
    — James B. Steinberg, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
  • The party’s divide on economic populism reflects a political split over whether it’s done enough for voters ahead of the midterms.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 8 Dec. 2025
  • The biggest challenge to governance in Japan is not far-right populism but power dispersion and the gridlock that comes with it.
    — Mireya Solís, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Kirk sought to construct a conservative populism that did not get mired in the morass of anti-Jewish conspiracism.
    — Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'populism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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