Populism
[pop-yuh-liz-uh m]
- the political philosophy of the People's party.
- (lowercase) any of various, often antiestablishment or anti-intellectual political movements or philosophies that offer unorthodox solutions or policies and appeal to the common person rather than according with traditional party or partisan ideologies.
- (lowercase) grass-roots democracy; working-class activism; egalitarianism.
- (lowercase) representation or extolling of the common person, the working class, the underdog, etc.: populism in the arts.
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Origin of Populism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for populism
Contemporary Examples
In addition to his temperamental aversion to populism, Roosevelt also had a practical reason to be cautious.
This populism has left little room for Hamdeen Sabahi, the only other candidate in the election.
Popularity is taking its rightful place in the great American tradition of populism.
Polls show strong public support for many of the ideas that make up this populism.
That might leave some liberal ideologues cold, but it is a populism that produces results.
Historical Examples
In the days of Populism they were more open-minded than the Americans.
The Old World in the NewEdward Alsworth Ross
Armies and navies hold back the waves of populism and democracy.
During the past year the great political change from Republicanism to Populism had taken place in Kansas.
At one edge is the Populism of the prairies; at the other, the capitalism that is typified in Pittsburgh.
The Frontier in American HistoryFrederick Jackson Turner
The individualism of the Kentucky pioneer of 1796 was giving way to the Populism of the Kansas pioneer of 1896.
The Frontier in American HistoryFrederick Jackson Turner
populism
- a political strategy based on a calculated appeal to the interests or prejudices of ordinary people
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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 populism
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
populism
The belief that greater popular participation in government and business is necessary to protect individuals from exploitation by inflexible bureaucracy and financial conglomerates. “Power to the people” is a famous populist slogan.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.