1. Someone (esp. a politician) appealing to the real or perceived interests (and sometimes prejudices) of ordinary people
   "The populist candidate promised to fight for the working class"
    
2. A politician who only advocates policies that are popular
   "Critics accused him of being a populist rather than a principled leader"

1. (of a policy, etc.) put forward just because it would be popular
   "The candidate proposed a populist tax cut to win votes"
    
2. (often pejorative) appealing to the real or perceived interests (and sometimes prejudices) of ordinary people, as opposed to the interests of a privileged elite; often characterized as promoting over-simplified (and hence most likely unworkable) solutions to complex or intractable problems
   "Populist parties have more than tripled their support in Europe in the last 20 years"

Derived forms: populists

Type of: advocate, advocator, exponent, proponent

Encyclopedia: Populist