demagogy

American  

[dem-uh-goh-jee, -gaw-jee, -goj-ee] / ˈdɛm əˌgoʊ dʒi, -ˌgɔ dʒi, -ˌgɒdʒ i /

noun

1. Chiefly British. demagoguery.

2. the character of a demagogue.

3. a body of demagogues.

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demagogy British  

/ ˈdɛməˌɡɒɡɪ /

noun

1. demagoguery

2. rule by a demagogue or by demagogues

3. a group of demagogues

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Etymology

Origin of demagogy

1645–55; < Greek dēmagōgía leadership of the people, equivalent to dēmagōg ( ós ) demagogue + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

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

It’s incumbent on its leadership to account for the failures and betrayals that led to this, and find a better way to address them than the demagogy on offer.

From New York Times • May 3, 2016

Thanks to him the wave of demagogy halts at the temple door and evil fails to triumph in the District.

From The Torrent Entre Naranjos by Goldberg, Isaac