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  • propaganda
    propaganda
    noun
    information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
  • Propaganda
    Propaganda
    noun
    RC Church a congregation responsible for directing the work of the foreign missions and the training of priests for these
Synonyms
Trivia Time
By which three colors do communication experts classify propaganda?

propaganda

American  
[prop-uh-gan-duh] / ˌprɒp əˈgæn də /

noun

  • propaganda
    plural
  1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

  2. the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.

  3. the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.

  4. Roman Catholic Church.

    1. a committee of cardinals, established in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV, having supervision over foreign missions and the training of priests for these missions.

    2. a school College of Propaganda established by Pope Urban VIII for the education of priests for foreign missions.

  5. Archaic. an organization or movement for the spreading of propaganda.


Propaganda 1 British  
/ ˌprɒpəˈɡændə /

noun

  1. RC Church a congregation responsible for directing the work of the foreign missions and the training of priests for these

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

propaganda 2 British  
/ ˌprɒpəˈɡændə /

noun

  1. the organized dissemination of information, allegations, etc, to assist or damage the cause of a government, movement, etc

  2. such information, allegations, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

propaganda Cultural  
  1. Official government communications to the public that are designed to influence opinion. The information may be true or false, but it is always carefully selected for its political effect.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns


Etymology

Origin of propaganda

First recorded in 1710–20; from New Latin, short for congregātiō dē propāgandā fidē “congregation for propagating the faith”; propāgandā, ablative singular feminine gerundive of propāgāre; see propagate


Explanation

Propaganda is the spreading of information in support of a cause. It’s not so important whether the information is true or false or if the cause is just or not — it’s all propaganda. The word propaganda is often used in a negative sense, especially for politicians who make false claims to get elected or spread rumors to get their way. In fact, any campaign that is used to persuade can be called propaganda.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing propaganda

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It followed the closure of the website and social media accounts belonging to leading digital news outlet T24 over what authorities described as "LGBT propaganda".

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

Tebas later said he was drawing comparison with "those propaganda techniques" and "not with an ideology".

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

As important, for years internal Iranian propaganda depicted an Islamic Republic too strong and too well-armed for its foes to attack.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Nearly all appropriations bills that Congress passes include a rider that says none of the money being awarded can be used for publicity or propaganda purposes.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Reset the Bureau, and reprogram them without the propaganda, without the disdain for GDs. Then they’ll never risk the memories of the people in the experiments again. The danger will be gone forever.”

From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

Propaganda, he argues, could be a tool to regulate and benefit the body politic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

"MTI has been liberated and works freely... Topics and organisations previously banned have returned to our coverage. Propaganda has been pushed out," said an editor.

From Barron's ● May 30, 2026

The EP comes along with a digital e-zine edition of U2's fanzine Propaganda.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

She is the vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department at the Korean Workers’ Party, as well as a member of the State Affairs Commission, North Korea’s top decision-making authority.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2025

Propaganda can be one of the jobs of an intelligence service.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

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