How to Use populist in a Sentence

populist

1 of 2 noun
  • Far-right populists have seen a surge in support.
    — Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2026
  • Gerwig at her best has a true populist feel for how to give the audience pleasure.
    — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 July 2023
  • On the other hand, scholars have found countries governed by populists are worse off.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Now, with his approval ratings in steep decline, the far-right populist is again revving up the culture wars.
    — Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2022
  • Elsewhere, right-wing populists are making inroads with a tough-on-crime message.
    — Daniel Politi, ajc, 28 May 2023
  • But Welch and Palka aren’t fire-and-brimstone populists.
    — Tara Palmeri, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
  • In response, Bolsonaro has turned to his populist playbook by trying to stir up his base.
    — Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, 30 May 2021
  • The incumbent is a far-right populist, while Lula is a leftist.
    — Catherine Garcia, The Week, 3 Oct. 2022
  • Macron faces a formidable challenge from the populist right in elections next year.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 12 June 2021
  • The notion that Wall Street is to blame for high housing costs is widespread among left-wing populists.
    — Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
  • But the disheveled populist quickly qualified his statement, as the crowd grew quiet again.
    — Liz Goodwin The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 25 May 2026
  • Bukele, a forty-year-old former night-club manager, is an abrasive populist who tweets without restraint.
    — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2021
  • The right-wing populist has cut fuel taxes to reduce prices at the pump and sent monthly cash transfers to poor families.
    — Paulina Villegas, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022
  • The hawks are practically taunting the populists for their lack of influence.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Obrador is another autocrat posing as a populist from the Left.
    — Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2023
  • For those who seek to defeat populists, Orbán’s defeat also offers lessons.
    — Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2026
  • But populists’ use of xenophobia and conspiracy theories can turn that idea on its head.
    — Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Abourezk, dubbed a pioneer populist, left us with the toolbox and templates for justice and social action.
    — Doris Bittarcommunity Advisory Board Member, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2023
  • This will lead to greater inequality which will provide a breeding ground for violent populists.
    — Geoffrey Hinton, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
  • This yearly lecture from on high is conceived to show Obama’s smarter-than-a-populist diversions.
    — Armond White, National Review, 22 Dec. 2021
  • Populists and nativists had upended its globalist view.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Populists and nationalists have embraced the relativism conservatism used to push against on the left.
    — Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Today, the same question arises about taking power out of the hands of Poland’s national populists.
    — Foreign Affairs, 12 Mar. 2024
  • Bukele, a right-wing populist who rose to power in 2019, announced the plan to start using bitcoin in June.
    — Merlin Delcid, CNN, 6 Sep. 2021
  • This is not a great look, particularly when the populist’s most effective tool is rage against a condescending élite.
    — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021
  • Yet the tyrannical impulse of authoritarian populists is the same across the world.
    — Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Rising voices on the right, many mirroring Carlson’s faux-populist shtick, remain in his shadow.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 16 Sep. 2021
  • Many are pragmatic, serious, non-populists.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
  • The idea was both avant-garde and populist, breaking down the hierarchies and theatrical heightening of modern dance.
    — Brian Seibert, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024
  • Reflecting that reality saved Davos — from the populists, and from itself.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 22 Jan. 2026

populist

2 of 2 adjective
  • And how will populist tides turn in the year ahead?
    — Will Johnson, Time, 1 Jan. 2026
  • The outcry has a populist feel to it.
    — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
  • That populist moment isn’t yet a sure thing.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The center doesn’t need to copy populist rhetoric.
    — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
  • There’s a populist mood in this country.
    — Steve Peoples, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2026
  • The city is in the thick of a cheerful populist mania.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • And there is concern about this populist wave, even in France.
    — CBS News, 22 Feb. 2026
  • Trump, who has populist instincts, is starting to see this too.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 19 May 2026
  • At least one populist politician thinks Sanders didn’t go far enough.
    — Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
  • More populist voices push the frame even harder.
    — Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
  • And now the rabble-rousing populist shoe is on the other foot.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Both are populist proposals that council might not be able to vote through.
    — Kaitlin Durbin, cleveland, 27 Jan. 2023
  • And there are the populist choices that could be lurking within the fray.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Only, next time, the populist turn seems likely to be far uglier.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Pavel’s win cements a shift away from populist politics — at least for now.
    — Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2023
  • The episode reflects the party's dilemma in a populist age.
    — ABC News, 28 June 2026
  • But the movement doesn’t offer much in the way of populist appeal itself.
    — Gaby Del Valle, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
  • In turn, their recognition could honor a populist show that fans rallied for even when its own cast couldn’t.
    — Hunter Ingram, Variety, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Populist demagoguery wouldn’t be popular, nor speak so well to the demos, if there weren’t.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Platner has staked out a populist message and centered his campaign on the middle class.
    — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 29 June 2026
  • Tariffs have taken a toll on soybean farmers in this state with a populist, anti-war streak.
    — Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 2 May 2026
  • Galaxy’s Edge had been moving in a more populist direction for some time.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2026
  • The mouse was central to the computer’s populist future, which wasn’t yet assured at the time.
    — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Trump’s populist allies have learned that their most poisonous ideas have a potent audience.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Syria isn’t the driver of Europe’s populist surge.
    — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
  • In part, the contest echoes the challenge from populist upstarts faced by mainstream parties around the world.
    — ABC News, 25 Feb. 2026
  • This is also an inward-looking, populist moment.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 15 Dec. 2025
  • Its rise echoes that of parties on the populist right in many other European countries.
    — ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The decade brought the creation of a populist political party.
    — Diana Arterian, Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
  • That idea, prevalent during the populist spring of 2016, has faded since.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'populist.' 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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