Sheeple is a term of disparagement, a portmanteau created by combining the words "sheep" and "people", a reference to herd mentality. It is often used to denote persons who acquiesce to authority, and thus undermine their own human individuality. The implication of sheeple is that people believe whatever they are told, without processing it to be sure that it is an accurate representation of the real world around them. The term is generally used in a political sense. The term is also used to refer to people who hold unfounded or illogical fears of inanimate objects such as knives, guns, lighters and so on.

It was thought that two possible originators of this term were Michael Savage and Chuck D (of hip hop's Public Enemy), but the term was in common usage in the biker community dating back to at least the early 70s.

See also

• bandwagon effect
• counter culture
• gaia mind
• groupthink
• herd mentality
• meme
• propaganda
• world soul