populist
noun
a supporter or adherent of populism.
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populist
American
[pop-yuh-list]
/ ˈpɒp jə lɪst /
noun
populists
plural
-
a supporter or adherent of populism.
-
(initial capital letter) a member of the People's party.
adjective
-
Also populistic. of, relating to, or characteristic of populism or its adherents.
-
(initial capital letter) Also Populistic. of or relating to the People's party.
Populist
1
British
/ ˈpɒpjʊlɪst /
noun
adjective
populist
2
British
/ ˈpɒpjʊlɪst /
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of populist
An Americanism first recorded in 1890–95; from Latin popul(us) “people” ( cf. people, popular) + -ist
Explanation
Use the noun populist to describe a person — especially a politician or activist — who works to give regular working people a voice in their government. In politics, the word populist refers to someone who puts ordinary people's rights above those of the wealthy and powerful. It is basically a synonym of democrat, which when spelled with a lower-case d is simply a person who believes in democratic principles of rule by the people, freedom, and equality. The root of populist is the Latin word for "people," populus.
Vocabulary lists containing populist
We the People: Popul
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Unit 1, Small-Group Learning
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Content Summary 6.7: Impact of Contemporary Globalization
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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:
He inherits a race transformed by Graham Platner’s abrupt exit—and must convince voters he can harness the oysterman’s populist appeal without carrying his baggage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
In some large counties, Jackson won every delegate at stake as a plurality of convention attendees simply voted for the populist Democrat’s slate.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
Instead, he linked his positions to a broader critique of stagnating wages and inequality, citing decades of flat real earnings for most US workers as a driver of populist politics on both left and right.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Shaw has framed her campaign as a populist effort against a failed and self-interested status quo establishment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Indeed, it is possible to date the chasm that was to develop between the populist mainstream and the classical avant-garde in music to this place and time.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
But the most extraordinary aspect of the Populist Party was its coalition.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2024
Populist Peter Pellegrini has been elected president of Slovakia, succeeding the liberal Zuzana Caputova.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2024
Populist Javier Milei, a libertarian economist and self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” won a presidential runoff election on Sunday with 55.7% of the vote.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
Populist civilian leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took charge after that debacle, holding sway over the army for five years.
From Reuters ● May 22, 2023
With the rise of the Populist Party in 1892, farmers and laborers formed the first mass multiracial coalition in the country’s history.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Macron, who attended the country’s top schools, “has become the embodiment of everything populists hate,” said Olivier Costa, a research professor at the Paris-based Sciences Po university and France’s National Center for Scientific Research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
These shamanistic masks have long been a mainstay of populists.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2025
Still, opera populists are trying and appear to be making progress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
In the first round, Torres’ competition came mostly from other conservative populists.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2023
How glib would have been the tongues of their orators in denouncing all who advocated the remonetization of gold as cranks, socialists, populists, anarchists, ne’er-do-wells, and Adullamites, kickers, visionaries, and frauds!
From If Not Silver, What? by Bookwalter, John W.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
