Pander
/ˈpændər/
verbnounC2
Definition
To pander means to do or say things that please others, especially when these things are bad, wrong, or unfair, just to get their support or make them happy. It often has a negative meaning because it shows someone is not honest or true to their own values. As a noun, a pander is a person who helps others satisfy bad desires or encourages wrong behavior.
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See It in Action
Verb: To do or say what others want to hear or get, especially to please them in a wrong or unfair way.
- •The politician pandered to voters by promising things he could not deliver.
- •Companies sometimes pander to trends to sell more products.
- •She refused to pander to the crowd’s unfair demands.
Noun: A person who helps others satisfy bad desires or encourages wrong behavior.
- •The pander was arrested for helping criminals.
- •He acted as a pander by encouraging dishonest actions.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "pander" like "help," but helping people do something wrong or selfish just to get something from them.
- ✓Picture a person giving sweets to a child to make the child happy, even if the sweets are bad for the child’s health.
- ✓It’s the feeling when someone says things you want to hear, but you know they are not honest—they only want to get your approval.
- ✓Sounds like "PANDA" + "er" → imagine a cute panda giving in to all your wishes, even if it’s not good for you.
- ✓In stories, a pander is like a character who encourages bad behavior or helps others do wrong things for their own benefit.
- ✓NOT like "help" (good and honest assistance), pandering is helping with bad or selfish reasons.
- ✓NOT like "support" (true and fair), pandering is false support to please others.
- ✓NOT like "agree" (honest opinion), pandering is agreeing just to please, not because of true belief.
Try Other Words
- •Cater to: to give people what they want, often used when the reason is to please or satisfy (Use when the focus is on meeting desires, not necessarily bad ones)
- •Appease: to calm or satisfy someone by giving what they want (Use when calming anger or complaints)
- •Gratify: to please or satisfy someone (Use when the pleasure is honest and positive)
- •Satisfy: to meet needs or desires (Use for neutral or positive contexts)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: (no clear prefix or suffix; root word "pander")
- •Etymology: From Middle English, from Old French "pandrer," from Italian "pandare" meaning to act as a go-between in love affairs
- •Historical development: Originally meant a person who arranged or encouraged secret love meetings; later, it came to mean someone who helps others satisfy bad desires
- •Modern usage: Used mostly in negative sense to describe giving in to bad desires or unfair demands to gain support or advantage
Reflect & Connect
•Can pandering ever be a good thing, or is it always negative? Why?
•How do you feel when someone panders to you? Does it make you trust them more or less?
Fill in the blanks
1.The politician pandered to the crowd’s ___ by promising things he could not truly deliver.
2.When a company panders to trends, it often changes its products to ___ more customers.
3.She refused to pander to unfair demands because it would ___ her values.
4.A pander is someone who helps others satisfy ___ desires or wrong actions.
5.To pander means to say or do things just to ___ others, even if it is dishonest.
6.When people pander, they often lose ___ because others see their true intentions.
7.Some celebrities pander to fans by ___ their opinions to match what the fans want to hear.