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Peddlers (especially fish merchants) have been called mongers for more than 1000 years. The term traces to a Latin noun meaning "trader." Initially, it was an honorable term, but every profession has its bad apples, and the snake-oil salesmen of the bunch gave monger a bad reputation. By the middle of the 16th century, the term often implied that a merchant was dishonorable and contemptible. Nowadays, monger is typically appended to another word to identify a trader of a particular type. Some combinations (such as fishmonger) suggest respectable commerce, whereas others (such as rumormonger, scandalmonger, and hypemonger) imply that a person is trading or spreading information in a careless or deceptive manner.
Examples of monger in a Sentence
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 9 Sep. 2024
Gossip mongers ate up the near-naked photos of the lead actors on set, the co-stars’ flirty interviews and online banter, and their exchanges of intimate looks during promotional appearances.
—Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024
Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024
But the fear mongering over both just leads to irresponsible and dangerous speculation, bullying, and a diminishment of athletic accomplishments.
—Lindsay Gibbs, TIME, 2 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for monger 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near monger
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“Monger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monger. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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