demagogue
Americannoun
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demagogues
plural
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a person, especially an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people.
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(in ancient times) a leader of the people.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a political agitator who appeals with crude oratory to the prejudice and passions of the mob
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(esp in the ancient world) any popular political leader or orator
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of demagogue
1640–50; < Greek dēmagōgós a leader of the people, popular leader, equivalent to dêm ( os ) people + agōgós leading, guiding; see -agogue
Explanation
A demagogue is someone who becomes a leader largely because of skills as a speaker or who appeals to emotions and prejudices. Though the Greek root for demagogue literally means "a leader of the people," the word has for centuries had a negative connotation: it actually means a leader who has manipulated the emotions and prejudices of the rabble. The reason for the negative connotation is that in ancient Athens, "the people" were considered to be an uncivilized mob. Two of the most famous historical demagogues are said to be Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.
Vocabulary lists containing demagogue
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The Federalist Papers, No. 1 by Alexander Hamilton
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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:
After Pericles’ death from plague in 429 B.C., rhetorical and political authority is seized by Cleon, an upstart demagogue who is the “most violent person in Athens” and “the most persuasive.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
But he also turned on his vice-president, reposting a comment on X in which she was labelled a "traitor, a demagogue and stupid in economic terms".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2025
Washington offered the blueprint of the modern demagogue, a Cassandra-like prophecy of executive overreach and populist fervor.
From Slate ● Feb. 17, 2025
It is a love of a de facto cult leader and demagogue for his followers who give him narcissistic fuel, their money, adoration, loyalty, time, energy, and perhaps even lives and freedom.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2024
Wilkes, the pleasant, worthless demagogue, who was afterwards to cause so much trouble, had petitioned against the return of Delaval, the sitting member for Berwick.
From Lord Chatham His Early Life and Connections by Archibald Phillip Primrose Rosebery
Egged on by demagogues, Thucydides narrates, Athens embarked on a war of choice—the Sicilian expedition, the disastrous failure of which contributed to Athens’s eventual defeat in the Peloponnesian War.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
He said the corporation was "the best defence of truth and trust against the lies of dictators and demagogues".
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
His book considers many of the “futurologists” who’ve held sway in the United States, including demagogues like Billy Sunday, utopian dreamers like Buckminster Fuller and sci-fi seers like Octavia E. Butler.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2024
That democracy can degenerate into tyranny through freely elected demagogues is an abiding paradox.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2023
Atticus Finch was right when he said the only good the University did Henry was let him make friends with Alabama’s future politicians, demagogues, and statesmen.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
At the same time, only a week ago, President Obama had praised Ryan as a "pretty sincere guy" and seemed to suggest Ryan's idea shouldn't be demagogued as "trying to hurt our senior citizens."
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2010
Perhaps directness is what’s required for an issue that cries out for more listening and less demagoguing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
