We the People: Dem

The words on this list all share the root dem, from the Greek demos, meaning "people."

Work your way through these lists focused on Greek and Latin roots representing people and the social units they form: Gen, Ethn, Dem, Popul, Soc, Civ, Anthrop
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. democracy
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
    The Constitution, conservatives frequently assert, has provided us with a form of government superior to those of other nations, even other democracies. Washington Post (Sep 30, 2015)
    demos + kratos ("rule, strength")
  2. democratic
    representing or appealing to the people at large
    These were elite clothes at their most democratic, which is the sort of oxymoron only the fashion world can provide. New York Times (Sep 18, 2015)
  3. democratize
    introduce democratic reforms; of nations
    “We share a common and clear objective: democratize the country,” said the 47-year-old, adding that a first step toward that was overhauling the electoral system to allow the opposition to challenge Ortega fairly. Reuters (Jun 24, 2018)
  4. democrat
    an advocate of rule by and for the people
    Following the coup, Iranian intellectuals no longer viewed Americans as missionaries, democrats, teachers, nurses and doctors, but as oilmen, spies and military men. Time (Sep 18, 2015)
  5. demography
    the study of the characteristics of human populations
    But where demography is truly becoming destiny is in the growing richness and complexity of our population. Forbes (May 26, 2015)
    demos + graphy (suffix forming names of descriptive sciences)
  6. demographer
    a scientist who studies the growth and density of populations
    That is why many demographers expect human population to peak and then decline before 2100. Scientific American (Oct 6, 2015)
  7. demographic
    a statistic characterizing human populations
    Viewers in the key advertising demographic of 18 to 34 make up only 25.5% of the TV audience, down from 30.5% four years ago. Los Angeles Times (Aug 18, 2015)
    In the 1960s, this adjective was turned into a noun to refer to the science of making predictions based on statistics about television audiences and advertisers.
  8. demagogue
    a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions
    The demagogue shouts enough for a hundred, but the silent thinker who disdains noise would be better worth hearing. Fenn, George Manville
    demos + agogos ("leader")
  9. demagoguery
    political rhetoric appealing to popular prejudice or emotion
    Divided governments, as well as divided corporations, have historically rallied behind strong leadership that emphasizes problem solving over demagoguery and infighting. Forbes (Nov 8, 2014)
  10. demotic
    of or for the common people
    But by the 1980s, publishers wanted literature to reflect the demotic speech of ordinary folk. BBC (Aug 27, 2014)
Created on Wed Sep 30 15:41:41 EDT 2015 (updated Mon Aug 26 15:46:28 EDT 2019)

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