Showing results for "pandering"

• present participle of pander.

pandering

American  

[pan-der-ing] / ˈpæn dər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of catering to or profiting from the weaknesses, vices, or unreasonable desires of others.

   Pandering and fear-mongering are the main ingredients of his appeal to anxious voters.

2. the act or practice of furnishing clients for a prostitute or supplying persons for illicit sex acts.

   Human trafficking violates many other laws as well, including those against kidnapping, slavery, false imprisonment, and pandering.

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adjective

1. catering to or profiting from the weaknesses, vices, or unreasonable desires of others.

   He’s the epitome of the pandering politician, ready to say yes to everyone.

Other Word Forms

• panderingly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of pandering

First recorded in 1600–10; pander + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; pander + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pandering

If anything, our previous Eurovision entries played it too safe, pandering to a cliché of polished electro-pop.

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

“The experience of being Arab and Muslim has been to be the object of hate by one party and the subject of pandering by another. Both of them are alienating,” he said.

From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2026

First, good on Mazzulla to straight-up treat the kid as the reporter he clearly is, and answer the question directly, without pandering or turning it into some sort of saccharine after-school special.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

I’m not saying anyone should pity a woman who built her career pandering to sexism, even if she doesn’t like being on the receiving end.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2025

Ricky considered Luke for another second before glancing back to Doreen, a pandering smile on his face.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

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