pander

American  

[pan-der] / ˈpæn dər /

verb (used without object)

• panders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pandered,
  past participle,  past
• pandering
  present participle

1. to cater to or profit from the weaknesses or vices of others.

   to pander to the vile tastes of the vulgar masses.

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verb (used with object)

• panders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pandered,
  past participle,  past
• pandering
  present participle

1. to act as a pimp or procurer of clients for (a prostitute).

noun

1. a panderer.

pander British  

/ ˈpændə /

verb

1. to give gratification (to weaknesses or desires)

2. (archaic when tr) to act as a go-between in a sexual intrigue (for)

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noun

1. a person who caters for vulgar desires, esp in order to make money

2. a person who procures a sexual partner for another; pimp

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• panderage
  noun
• panderism
  noun
• panderly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• pandering
  present
• pandered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pander
  simple
• panders
  simple
• have pandered
  perfect
• has pandered
  perfect
• am pandering
  progressive
• are pandering
  progressive
• is pandering
  progressive
• have been pandering
  perfect progressive
• has been pandering
  perfect progressive

Past

• pandered
  simple
• had pandered
  perfect
• was pandering
  progressive
• were pandering
  progressive
• had been pandering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pander
  simple
• will have pandered
  perfect
• will be pandering
  progressive
• will have been pandering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pander

First recorded in 1325–75; earlier pandar(e), generalized use of Middle English name Pandare Pandarus

Explanation

If a campaigning politician wants to pander to a crowd of pet owners, he might deliver a speech while embracing his own pet poodle. To pander is to appease or gratify, and often in a negative, self-serving way. The word pander began its infamous history as the name of various characters. Pandaro was a character in Boccaccio’s Filostrato. Pandarus was a character in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, as well as in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. These literary works all tell the tale of star-crossed lovers, and the namesake of pander is, essentially, a go-between whose motives don't seem entirely pure.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pander panders pandered pandering

How can you pander to a player so much?

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

The whole affair was tawdry, shabby, and cheap—designed to pander to downwardly mobile young men who felt angry at the world.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

But the jury is out on whether Warsh will "pander to the president" if persistent inflation called for higher rates, he added.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

They acted like owners, obsessed over cash flow and didn’t pander to Wall Street’s whims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

“He is a smuggler and a slaver, half pirate and half pander, but it may be that he is your best hope,” the innkeep had told them.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Critics also say the shoey panders too much to stereotypes which don't reflect modern Australia.

From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2023

But Ford is made of tougher stuff; except for a few aw-shucks grins, he never panders.

From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2023

Despite the strengths of Monk's character, the episode's ending feels tacked-on and panders to a non-disabled audience, where a disabled character is "fixed."

From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2022

The characters were developed in a way that honors audiences rather than panders to them.

From The Verge ● Nov. 19, 2021

Stop the rent, and at one blow you annihilate the profligate press, which turns the minds of the people from their legitimate avocations, which panders to their prejudices, and excites them to outrage.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 367, May 1846 by Various

We don’t need to be pandered to with short-form content depicting people four times our age using our slang incorrectly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

If the viewer doesn’t like it or feels like they’re being obnoxiously pandered to through repetition and over-explanation, the best choice is to watch something else.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026

She said she wasn't aware of media criticism of the show as "woke" and and thought a headline saying it "pandered to woke culture" was "cute".

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025

This is despite a lack of films featuring Latinos, which I think speaks to another overlooked fact: Latinos don’t need to be pandered to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023

All the Jeffersonian chants about human equality were delusions that pandered to mankind’s urge to believe an impossible dream.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Lacy doesn’t come off as someone overly concerned with doing big numbers, or pandering to a newfound pop audience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

“The experience of being Arab and Muslim has been to be the object of hate by one party and the subject of pandering by another. Both of them are alienating,” he said.

From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2026

Despite the horror vacui and digital pandering, the objects brought together here by lead curator Rosina Buckland describe multiple facets of samurai culture with breadth and brilliance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026

I’m not saying anyone should pity a woman who built her career pandering to sexism, even if she doesn’t like being on the receiving end.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2025

We’d been taught that worrying about inmates’ concerns was tantamount to pandering, that it almost demeaned an officer.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover