useful idiot
noun
plural useful idiots
: a naive or credulous person who can be manipulated or exploited to advance a cause or political agenda
It is one task of the KGB [in 1982] to apply its skills of secrecy and deception to projecting the Soviet party's influence. This it does through contacts with legal Communist Parties abroad, with groups sympathetic to Soviet goals, with do-gooders of the type that Lenin once described as "useful idiots" … .—
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street JournalExamples of useful idiot in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tehran saw the young cleric as a useful idiot who sometimes needed to be restrained.
—Mohsen Milani, Foreign Affairs, 20 Sep. 2010
The movie undoubtedly lays the wood on several in Bush’s inner circle — Thandie Newton’s impression of Condoleezza Rice is particularly mean — as W. ponders what happens when a useful idiot falls under the sway of warmongers with bad intel.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024
Thus what would seem like awful news (being accused by the federal government of being Russia’s useful idiot) is merely another avenue for engagement.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024
No wonder Russia finds its useful idiots among the extremely online.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024
Related article Netanyahu labels critics of war in Gaza ‘Iran’s useful idiots’ in speech to Congress
Last week the World Health Organization said the polio virus had been found in sewage samples, putting thousands of Palestinians at risk of contracting a disease that can cause paralysis.
—Sahar Akbarzai, CNN, 26 July 2024
The useful idiots were in the Capitol’s House chamber, applauding every lie that came out of his mouth.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 26 July 2024
Over 1,200 useful idiots have been charged with crimes during the January 6th insurrection, many of them receiving significant time behind bars.
—Rafael Perez, Orange County Register, 12 Apr. 2024
At its most petty and oversimplified, the fascism question became yet another way for the left to play one of its oldest parlor games: progressives accusing other progressives of being useful idiots for centrism.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2024
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Mohsen Milani, Foreign Affairs, 20 Sep. 2010
The movie undoubtedly lays the wood on several in Bush’s inner circle — Thandie Newton’s impression of Condoleezza Rice is particularly mean — as W. ponders what happens when a useful idiot falls under the sway of warmongers with bad intel.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024
Thus what would seem like awful news (being accused by the federal government of being Russia’s useful idiot) is merely another avenue for engagement.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024
No wonder Russia finds its useful idiots among the extremely online.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024
Related article Netanyahu labels critics of war in Gaza ‘Iran’s useful idiots’ in speech to Congress
Last week the World Health Organization said the polio virus had been found in sewage samples, putting thousands of Palestinians at risk of contracting a disease that can cause paralysis.
—Sahar Akbarzai, CNN, 26 July 2024
The useful idiots were in the Capitol’s House chamber, applauding every lie that came out of his mouth.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 26 July 2024
Over 1,200 useful idiots have been charged with crimes during the January 6th insurrection, many of them receiving significant time behind bars.
—Rafael Perez, Orange County Register, 12 Apr. 2024
At its most petty and oversimplified, the fascism question became yet another way for the left to play one of its oldest parlor games: progressives accusing other progressives of being useful idiots for centrism.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Useful idiot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/useful%20idiot. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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