dog whistle

noun

variants or less commonly dog-whistle

ˈdȯg-ˈ(h)wi-səl

: a whistle to call or direct a dog

especially : one sounding at a frequency inaudible to the human ear

politics : an expression or statement that has a secondary meaning intended to be understood only by a particular group of people

Democrats and liberals sometimes have gone to ridiculous lengths to portray speech by Republicans and conservatives as dog whistles responsible for inciting unstable people to carry out violent acts …—

The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch

… habitually inserts dog-whistles into his speeches to motivate evangelical voters.—

The Economist

—often used before another noun

That is the fundamental perversity of 'dog whistle politics', whereby political parties send coded messages that will be heard one way by their core supporters and another way altogether by others.—

Robert E. Goodin

Examples of dog whistle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Guys, go ahead, bring on the racist and misogynistic name-calling and dog whistles. —

Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 29 July 2024 Critics suggested the song and music video, released a year ago, had racist dog whistles, assertions Aldean denied. —

Jordyn Noennig, Journal Sentinel, 18 July 2024 Austria’s resurgent Freedom Party flirted with the center before once again committing itself to overt dog whistles and political references that hark back to the 1930s. —

Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 28 June 2024 Despite the periodic dog whistles against Muslims during the elections by Modi and his lieutenants, this agenda is a primary electoral concern for only a small fraction of India’s voters. —

Rohit Lamba, Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for dog whistle

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dog whistle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.