A fearmonger is a person who
exaggerates a situation, playing upon the
fears of the listener. A tool often used by
politicians, fearmongering helps detract attention from things that the listener would pay attention to if not for the
distraction provided by the
panic engendered. When people are scared, their sense of reason usually
vanishes, enabling the fearmonger to
manipulate their actions.
The root word, monger, means salesman or peddler. It can mean a trader in a commodity, such as an ironmonger or fishmonger, but is used mostly as a pejorative: warmonger, hatemonger, scandalmonger, etc.