demagogue

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After Pericles’ death from plague in 429 B.C., rhetorical and political authority is seized by Cleon, an upstart demagogue who is the “most violent person in Athens” and “the most persuasive.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

But he also turned on his vice-president, reposting a comment on X in which she was labelled a "traitor, a demagogue and stupid in economic terms".

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025

Watson was an effective demagogue because he practiced a politics of anger in an era that demanded it.

From Slate • Oct. 16, 2024

It was a speech you might expect from any demagogue.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2024

Personally, Rochefort is not qualified to be a demagogue in the sense that Danton was a demagogue, and he can make no pretension to be a revolutionary leader of a high class.

From Modern Leaders: Being a Series of Biographical Sketches by McCarthy, Justin