pander

[ pan-der ]

/ ˈpæn dər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pander ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Also pan·der·er.

a person who furnishes clients for a prostitute or supplies persons for illicit sexual intercourse; procurer; pimp.

a person who caters to or profits from the weaknesses or vices of others.

a go-between in amorous intrigues.

verb (used without object)

to act as a pander; cater basely: to pander to the vile tastes of vulgar persons.

verb (used with object)

to act as a pander for.

Nearby words

Origin of pander

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

Related formspan·der·age, nounpan·der·ing·ly, adverbpan·der·ism, nounpan·der·ly, adjective

Can be confusedpanda pander

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pander

But if I overdo it and I pander and I put something up just because the Twilight crowd is going to like it, I will get punished.
David Simon Says ‘The Wire’ Wouldn’t Survive on TV Today|Alex Suskind|April 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All Ham had to do was sit still for two-and-a-half hours, sound vaguely professional, and pander occasionally to his base.
The Bill Nye-Ken Ham Debate Was a Nightmare for Science|Michael Schulson|February 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And no one is confusing Obama with Bill Clinton, who knew how to maneuver—or, if one prefers, how to pander.
The Sprawling, Dimming Age of Obama|Lloyd Green|June 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The pander itself is a depressing, if familiar, window into conservative Republican thought on the Middle East.
Romney's Worldview And Palestinian Statehood|Ali Gharib|September 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Democrats could use a sunny day as an excuse to destroy the free market, redistribute income and pander to lobbyists.
Coulter: Ok For Me, Not For You|David Frum|August 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Then looking at him, he added, "He has been a pander all his life, and there are nothing but women's letters there."
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete|Duc de Saint-Simon
You must find, then, what pleases it, and pander to its tastes.
Tomlinsoniana|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Be a judge's man; they are the bravest nowadays, or a cardinal's pander—that were a good profession, and gainful.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays (11 of 15)|W. Carew Hazlitt
Her growing horror of the "sweated" monotony of her life was forcing her relentlessly into the clutches of this pander.
Comrade Yetta|Albert Edwards
I have omitted a great deal, and avoided being a pander to the public taste for the sake of novelty or effect.
The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume II (of 2)|Florence A. Thomas Marshall

British Dictionary definitions for pander

pander

/ (ˈpændə) /

verb

(intr foll by to) to give gratification (to weaknesses or desires)

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

noun Also: panderer

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

a person who procures a sexual partner for another; pimp

Word Origin for pander

C16 (n): from Pandare Pandarus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pander

pander

"arranger of sexual liaisons, one who supplies another with the means of gratifying lust," 1520s, "procurer, pimp," from Middle English Pandare (late 14c.), used by Chaucer ("Troylus and Cryseyde"), who borrowed it from Boccaccio (who had it in Italian form Pandaro in "Filostrato") as name of the prince (Greek Pandaros), who procured the love of Cressida (his niece in Chaucer, his cousin in Boccaccio) for Troilus. The story and the name are medieval inventions. Spelling influenced by agent suffix -er.

pander

"to indulge (another), to minister to base passions," c.1600, from pander (n.). Related: Pandered; pandering.

Medicine definitions for pander

Pander

[ pän′dər ]

Christian Heinrich 1794-1865

Russian-born German anatomist and pioneer embryologist. With Karl Ernst von Baer he discovered the distinct structural layers of the chick embryo.

pander

noun Also pan·der·er.

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of pander

Examples from the Web for pander

pander

verb

noun Also: panderer

Word Origin for pander

pander

pander

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