fearmongering

American  

[feer-mahng-ger-ing] / ˈfɪərˌmɑŋ gər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the practice or strategy of trying to make people fearful or anxious as a means of manipulating them.

---

adjective

1. trying to make people fearful or anxious as a means of manipulating them.

Example Sentences

Private-fund managers, including Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and Blue Owl, have blamed fearmongering about a recent spate of corporate bankruptcies, like that of automotive supplier First Brands, for the surge of withdrawals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

In the southeastern port city of Changwon, home to the smaller of GM’s two finished car plants, local officials have been reluctant to give air to what they describe as premature fearmongering.

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2025

The problem with this story—as with so many others in the genre—is that the reality of the findings is not nearly as nerve-racking as the fearmongering headlines.

From Slate • Jul. 25, 2024

Looking backward there was fear-inducing grievances and fearmongering about freed Black people and white abolitionists before the Civil War and during the era of Reconstruction.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2024

No one is more susceptible to an expert’s fearmongering than a parent.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt