fearmonger means someone who spreads fear. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
fearmonger is pronounced /ˈfɪəmʌŋɡə/.
Why “fearmonger” is a great word
FEARMONGER — [Noun] A person who spreads alarming rumors or exaggerates dangers to provoke fear, often for political or personal gain. From fear (an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm) + monger (a dealer or trader in a specified commodity, often with a negative connotation of promoting something undesirable). First attested in 1939. Unlike a coward, who retreats from danger, or an optimist, who anticipates the best, the fearmonger is an entrepreneur of peril, actively trading in dread. It is the low voice on the late-night broadcast, the tabloid headline screaming of a coming plague, the cold leaflet slipped under the door—a testament to the grim truth that fear is easier to sell than hope.
noun
- Someone who spreads fear.“I think the Tea Partiers, despite their contradictions, are not all wrong about Big Government. But I worry that, in time, a clever fearmonger could manipulate popular opinion into an electoral mandate.”