Meaning & use
demagogue
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
A political leader who wins support by stirring up people's fears and prejudices instead of using honest argument.
Grammar: Plural demagogues; always a critical word.
Patterns
- a demagogue who ...
- the rise of a demagogue
The demagogue promised easy answers and blamed outsiders for every problem.
Voters should be wary of a demagogue who attacks the press.
History warns about demagogues who exploit economic fear.
nouncountablespecialist
In ancient Greece, a popular leader who spoke for the common people.
Grammar: Historical sense, originally not always negative.
Patterns
- a demagogue of Athens
Cleon is often described as a demagogue of ancient Athens.
In the old city-state, a demagogue could sway the assembly.
Historians still debate how to judge the early demagogue.
Word forms
| plural | demagogues |
|---|
Common combinations
- populist demagogue
- The populist demagogue filled the stadium with supporters.
- rabble-rousing demagogue
- A rabble-rousing demagogue took over the party.
- charismatic demagogue
- The charismatic demagogue never answered a hard question.
- accuse someone of being a demagogue
- Critics accused the senator of being a demagogue.
- the rise of a demagogue
- The novel describes the rise of a demagogue.
Synonyms and how they differ
- agitator
- An agitator stirs up public feeling about a cause and may be well-meaning, whereas a demagogue seeks personal power by manipulation.
- rabble-rouser
- Rabble-rouser is more informal and stresses stirring up crowds, not necessarily winning high office.
- populist
- Populist simply means appealing to ordinary people and is not always negative.
- firebrand
- Firebrand can be admiring, suggesting a passionate fighter for a cause, which demagogue never is.
Opposites
Word family
- demagoguery noun
- the practice of appealing to emotion and prejudice
- demagogic adjective
- typical of a demagogue
- demagoguish adjective
- like a demagogue; a rare word
- demagogy noun
- another word for demagoguery
Commonly confused: demagogue or democrat? demagogue or dogmatist?
demagogue vs democrat
A democrat believes in rule by the people; a demagogue manipulates people for power. The words share a Greek root but mean quite different things.
demagogue vs dogmatist
A dogmatist insists rigidly on beliefs, while a demagogue exploits public emotion.
Practice
A leader who wins votes by feeding the public's anger and fear rather than offering real solutions is best called a ___.
Choose one answer.
A demagogue manipulates emotion and prejudice to gain power. A diplomat or mediator seeks peaceful agreement, and a scholar studies.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “demagogue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.