useful idiots
- plural of useful idiot.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We've both been conned, useful idiots, which is not a very nice way to put it, but we've been used," says Elma.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
When useful idiots play along, the hypocrisy is double: Perpetrators pretend to be humane, and apologists pretend to believe them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
With how and why our culture has taught us that other animals are little more than useful idiots and that, therefore, our love of them is childish, hobbyistic or weird.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 31, 2021
It’s not uncommon for intellectuals to serve as useful idiots to the rich and the powerful, but, under the “third culture,” this reads like a job requirement.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 7, 2019
What these schmucks learned was that the returns on those investments were mostly minuscule; and now they discover that Zuckerberg viewed them all along much as Lenin regarded western communist sympathisers – useful idiots.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 21, 2018
