fearmonger

fear·mong·er
F4E1A1R1M3O1N1G2E1R1
UK/ˈfɪəmʌŋɡə/US/ˈfɪəɹˌmʌŋɡəɹ/

noun

Someone who spreads fear.

Similar
alarmistfearmongererpanicmongerscaremonger
Opposite
cowardherooptimist
Scrabble 16
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

fearmonger1

nounfearmonger (plural fearmongers)

plural fearmongers · alternative fear-monger · alternative fear monger

  1. Someone who spreads fear.

    I think the Tea Partiers, despite their contradictions, are not all wrong about Big Government. But I worry that, in time, a clever fearmonger could manipulate popular opinion into an electoral mandate.

    2010 December 4, Evan Thomas, “The Deepest Dangers Facing the United States [print version: Why It’s Time to Worry]”, in Newsweek, New York, N.Y.: Newsweek, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Jul 2024

    Synonyms: alarmist, fearmongerer, panicmonger, scaremonger, alarmist, fearmongerer, panicmonger, scaremonger

fearmonger2

verbfearmonger (third-person singular simple present fearmongers, present participle fearmongering, simple past and past participle fearmongered)

present singular third person fearmongers · participle present fearmongering · participle past fearmongered · past fearmongered · alternative fear-monger · alternative fear monger

  1. intransitiveTo spread fear.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSomeone who spreads fear.

Similar
alarmistfearmongererpanicmongerscaremongeralarmistfearmongererpanicmongerscaremonger
Opposite
cowardherooptimist
Also see
alarmistscaremongerterrormonger

Origin

fearmonger · noun

From fear + monger (“dealer in a specific commodity; (by extension) person promoting something undesirable”).

Full word history & related roots →

fearmonger · verb

Back-formation from fearmongering.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish lietsoa pelkoa, pelotella
  • lietsoa pelkoato spread fear
  • pelotellato spread fear
French semer la peur
  • semer la peurto spread fear
Polish siać strach
  • siać strachto spread fear
Portuguese espalhar medo
  • espalhar medoto spread fear
Cite this entry
APA

fearmonger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fearmonger

MLA

“fearmonger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fearmonger. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fearmonger,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fearmonger.

Source: fearmonger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.