a person, especially a politician, who strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups

he ran as a populist on an anti-corruption platform

relating to or characteristic of a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups

party leaders plan to reprise the populist rhetoric that they used in the tax fight

a populist opposition leader

populist tabloid newspapers