fighting word

American  

noun

1. Usually fighting words. language that arouses rage in an antagonist.

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Example Sentences

We was fighting word counts, so a lot of my essay got chopped up.

From Salon

The main target of its critique is also the principal object of its affection, which we might call — using a name that has lately become something of a fighting word — cinema.

From New York Times

Where Eddy grew up in the show, the word "queer" used to be a fighting word .

From Salon

In French- and Spanish-speaking countries, “liberal”, now often prefixed by “neo-”, is a fighting word used with exactly the opposite meaning to that which it has in America: to describe a heartless small-government economic philosophy, and a global order in which the World Bank and International Monetary Fund boss poor countries around, forcing them to adopt market-based economic policies.

From Economist

Mammography has become a fighting word in recent years, with some researchers questioning its value and others staunchly defending it.

From New York Times