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Glite Dictionary
demagogy

demagogy

1 9.9
Political speech that tries to gain support by using people's strong feelings and unfair ideas
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛm.əˌɡɑː.ɡi/
  • Literature
translation icon : demagogia
  • Historically, demagogy has often been used during times of crisis to manipulate public sentiment.

Examples

  • The speaker relied on demagogy to rally support from the crowd by exploiting their fears and emotions.

  • The core of resistance to auteurist ideas is populist demagogy.

    Blog text (1)

  • The masses want everything for free; well, now everybody will pay the price for the stupid demagogy.

    Blog text (9)

  • This situation, he claimed, was fertile ground for demagogy and a low, dangerous mass culture.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Instead, domestic politics in Tokyo and Washington would seek to set the course, and political fads and demagogy would fill the agenda.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Roosevelt's "fireside chats" constituted dangerous demagogy because they appealed to emotion rather than logic.

    Academic text (2001)

  • With their demagogy, it has taken only a few months of campaigning for the revolutionaries to overthrow the old regime and replace it with a fraudulent oligarchy.

    Academic text (2002)

  • He just used demagogy, which is defined as 'the art and practice of gaining power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people.'

    Blog text (9)

  • Critics argue that the candidate's speech was filled with demagogy that avoided addressing the real issues.

Synonyms

demagoguery
vsdemagogy
  • Literature
13 9.5

To win support by using strong emotion and fear in speeches

is political action that favors emotion over reason when gaining support
propagandism
vsdemagogy
9.0

A practice of spreading biased information to make people accept certain ideas

is more about stirring emotions and prejudices rather than systematic messaging

Antonyms

rationality
34 5.4

Clear thinking and decisions based on facts and logic

How Demagogic

incitement
  • NSFW
13 8.1
demagogy
  • Literature
1 9.9
rabble-rousing
  • Literature
2 8.6
populism
18 7.0
persuasion
45 3.6

Surface Forms

demagogy singular
demagogies plural

Morphology

demagogy = demagogue (transparent) = demagogue + y

Formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-y' (practice/state) to 'demagogue', so the meaning 'the practices of demagogues' follows directly.

Etymology

The word demagogy comes from Greek parts demos ('the people') and agogos ('leader' or 'to lead'), the same demos you see in democracy. So demagogy describes leaders who try to win support by stirring people's emotions and unfair beliefs, rather than by giving good reasons.