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Word of the Day Archive
Thursday September 8, 2005

demagogue \DEM-uh-gog\, noun:
1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
2. A leader of the common people in ancient times.

This was to have held a sculpture of a Roman charioteer driving four horses, but the work was never completed, leaving behind what looks like a diving board or a futurist balcony, ideally suited for a demagogue exhorting a throng below.
-- Michael Z. Wise, "A Fascist Utopia Adapted for Today", New York Times

A consummate demagogue, McCarthy played upon cold war emotions and made charges so fantastic that frightened people believed the worst.
-- Arthur Herman, Joseph McCarthy

Even when he showed his true colors as a demagogue and trickster, Stalin did so in such a crisp and weighty, confidence-inspiring manner that he bewitched not only his conversational partner but himself as well.
-- Milovan Djilase, Fall of the New Class, July 11, 1999

Demagogue derives from Greek demagogos, "a leader of the people," from demos, "the people" + agogos, "leading, one who leads," from agein, "to lead."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for demagogue

 

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