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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 But those standards can be easily stretched by demagogues, and a simple majority on the committee is enough to ban a party, though a panel of nine Supreme Court justices can overturn the decision on appeal. — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 18 May 2026 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 The Constitution was crafted out of fear — fear of concentrated power, factional dominance, corruption, demagogues, unchecked executives, and the use of public office for personal gain. — Paul Oestreicher, Hartford Courant, 10 June 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 See All Example Sentences for demagogue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demagogue
  1. agitator
  2. firebrand
  3. rebel
  4. promoter
  5. proponent
  6. provocateur
  7. insurgent
  8. apostle
Noun
  • 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.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
  • White attributed most of the hateful comments to online agitators rather than true WNBA or Indiana Fever fans.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of agitator
Noun
  • 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.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
  • 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.
    — Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of firebrand
Noun
  • 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.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026
  • 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.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • Elsie Peacock Hand has been a mayor, bank vice president, country music promoter, and longtime political aide and booster, Patricia Murphy writes.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 6 July 2026
  • Other guests in attendance include AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron, Steven Spielberg, Bob Iger, Dana Walden, Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge, Republic Records founders Monte and Avery Lipman and Swift’s longtime tour promoter Louie Messina.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 3 July 2026
Definition of promoter
Noun
  • 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.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026
  • 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).
    — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Definition of proponent
Noun
  • The Onion is pressing ahead with its takeover of InfoWars, the conspiracy-laden media empire formerly owned by far-right provocateur Alex Jones.
    — Drew Pittock, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • The height of her popularity came during her 12-year relationship with French provocateur Serge Gainsbourg.
    — Michelle Duncan, Architectural Digest, 1 July 2026
Definition of provocateur
Noun
  • Fujimori, 51, is the daughter of late President Alberto Fujimori, who governed the country ​with an iron fist from 1990 to 2000 and was credited with defeating Maoist insurgents and taming runaway hyperinflation.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 4 July 2026
  • Syria has been without a parliament since the December 2024 offensive by insurgents led by al-Sharaa’s now defunct Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which ended the Assad family’s five-decade dynasty.
    — Ghaith Alsayed, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of insurgent
Noun
  • The ritual confers the Holy Spirit from one bishop to another and recalls Christ’s gesture to his apostles.
    — Jamey Keaten, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • According to the gospels, Jesus traveled here from biblical Galilee, while the apostle Paul established a thriving church here.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 23 June 2026
Definition of apostle

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demagogue
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Cite this Entry

“Demagogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demagogue. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of demagogue for Spanish Speakers

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