What does scaremongering mean?
Scaremongering means using frightening claims, warnings, or allegations to make people anxious, often for political or commercial purposes. It usually describes communication that exaggerates a danger, presents uncertainty as certainty, or exploits public fears. The term is strongly critical: calling something scaremongering suggests that the real purpose is manipulation rather than genuine warning or public education. In political contexts, accusations of scaremongering often accompany disputes over health, welfare, immigration, security, or the economy, while commercial uses include criticism of advertising that turns insecurity into a sales opportunity. Although the word can be used to describe any alarming rhetoric, it most clearly applies when fear appears to be deliberately cultivated for advantage. Understanding the term is useful because not every alarming message is necessarily dishonest, but scaremongering implies a deliberate strategy of manufacturing or exploiting fear.
nounThe use of alarming statements or claims to frighten people, especially for political or commercial advantage. The term is generally critical and implies that fear is being deliberately cultivated or exploited.
- The deliberate or perceived use of frightening claims, warnings, or rumours to alarm people for political, financial, or ideological advantage.
"The minister accused his opponents of scaremongering after they warned that the new policy would raise energy prices."
"The broadcast was condemned as scaremongering because it presented a disputed forecast as an imminent catastrophe."
"Her article avoids scaremongering and instead examines the evidence behind the policy change."
The activity is normally treated as uncountable. The plural form "scaremongers" refers to people alleged to engage in it.
"The newspaper rejected the accusation of scaremongering and published its sources instead."
A little uncertainty can inform; scaremongering makes fear the product it sells.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does scaremongering come from?
The word was formed in English by combining "scare" with the older noun "monger" and the suffix "-ing." Monger, now chiefly archaic, was borrowed through Old French from Latin and originally meant a dealer or trader. In "scaremongering," the idea of trading is extended metaphorically to someone who traffics in fear or alarm.
Related word forms
How scaremongering is actually used
The word is overwhelmingly negative and is commonly used to characterize rhetoric that exploits anxiety or insecurity. Though its -ing form resembles a gerund, it is normally treated as a noun; "scaremonger" names the person alleged to engage in the activity.