Demagogue

Definitions

1. A political orator or leader, especially in a democratic system, who gains favor by pandering to or exciting the passions and prejudices of the audience rather than by using rational argument.
   derogatory
2. A leader of the people.
   historical

Equivalents

Examples

“1938, O'Neill, translating The Knights by Aristophanes, 424 BC, lines 191-193, A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue.”

“If the majority of our fellow-citizens are more susceptible to the slogans of fear and race⟳ hatred than to those of peaceful accommodation and mutual respect⟳ among human beings, our political liberties remain⟳ at the mercy of any eloquent and unscrupulous demagogue.”

“What is a demagogue? He is a politician skilled in oratory, flattery and invective; evasive in discussing vital issues; promising everything to everybody; appealing to the passions rather than the reason⟳ of the public; and arousing racial, religious, and class prejudices—a man whose lust for power without recourse to principle leads him to seek⟳ to become⟳ a master of the masses. He has for centuries practiced his profession of 'man of the people'. He is a product of a political tradition nearly as old as western civilization itself.”

“It is true that America has a paranoid streak in its politics, and demagogues come⟳ along from time to time to feed⟳ on anger and resentment.”

CEFR level