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| dem·a·gogue [ démmə gòg ] or dem·a·gog [ démmə gòg ] |
noun (plural dem·a·gogues) (plural dem·a·gogs) |
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1. emotive dictator: a political leader who gains power by appealing to people's emotions, instincts, and prejudices in a way that is considered manipulative and dangerous
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2. popular leader in ancient times: in ancient times, a popular leader who represented the ordinary people
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verb (past and past participle dem·a·gogued, present participle dem·a·gogu·ing, 3rd person present singular dem·a·gogues) (past dem·a·goged, present participle dem·a·gog·ing, 3rd person present singular dem·a·gogs) |
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| Definition: |
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1. intransitive verb engage in demagoguery: to act like a demagogue in gaining power by appealing to people's emotions and prejudices
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2. transitive and intransitive verb elicit emotive bias on issues: to elicit people's emotional and prejudicial biases on an issue
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| [Mid-17th century. < Greek dēmagōgos "leader of the people" < agōgos "leader" < agein "lead"] |
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  dem·a·gog·ism noun |
| dem·a·gogu·er·y noun |
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