demagogy
Americannoun
-
demagoguery
-
rule by a demagogue or by demagogues
-
a group of demagogues
Etymology
Origin of demagogy
1645–55; < Greek dēmagōgía leadership of the people, equivalent to dēmagōg ( ós ) demagogue + -ia -y 3
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.
Recognizing this, Masson wrote in 1941, in “Painting is a Wager”: “Towards 1930, five years after the foundation of surrealism, a formidable disaster appeared in its midst: the demagogy of the irrational.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
Mr Aiwanger's blunt style - to fans straight-talking, to critics dangerous demagogy - works well in beer tents and he makes even Bavaria's boisterous premier Markus Söder look stuffy.
From BBC • Oct. 6, 2023
On the other hand, the movie is conspicuously wary of the powers of law enforcement and infused with a fear of demagogy.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 12, 2019
“Now,” he said, “it’s been proved that no country is really vaccinated against demagogy or populism.”
From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2018
Companies were necessarily regimented together, of which each could have but little personal knowledge of the officers of the others; intrigue and demagogy soon came into play, and almost fatal mistakes were made in selection.
From Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 1 April 1861-November 1863 by Cox, Jacob Dolson
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.
