demagogue
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\n \n Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 30, 2024 is:\n \n
\n \n\n demagogue • \\DEM-uh-gahg\\ • noun
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A demagogue is a political leader who tries to get support by making use of popular prejudices, as well as by making false claims and promises and using arguments based on emotion rather than reason.
\n\n// His opponent called him a bigoted demagogue for demonizing those who don't intend to vote for him.
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\u201cYou need an internal guidance system for making decisions. Without one, your choices become heavily influenced by external forces such as peers, television, and demagogues.\u201d \u2014 Tom Muha, The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland), 2 Oct. 2021
\n \n \n\n Did you know?
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When the ancient Greeks used d\u0113mag\u014dg\xf3s (from d\xeamos, meaning \u201cpeople,\u201d and -ag\u014dgos, \u201cleading\u201d) they meant someone good\u2014a leader who used outstanding oratorical skills to further the interests of the common people. The first known use of demagogue in English comes from the introduction to Thomas Hobbes\u2019s 1629 translation of a text by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides: \u201cIt need not be doubted, but from such a master Thucydides was sufficiently qualified, to have become a great demagogue, and of great authority with the people.\u201d Alas, the word quickly took a negative turn; within decades it was being used to refer to someone who uses powers of persuasion to sway and mislead.
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