name-calling

[neym-kaw-ling]

noun

1. the use of abusive names to belittle or humiliate another person in a political campaign, an argument, etc.

name-calling

noun

1. verbal abuse, esp as a crude form of argument

Word History and Origins

Origin of name-calling¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

So I’m just curious if there’s some weird middle ground that dissenting justices and lower-court judges need to find so that it doesn’t look like name-calling or editorializing?

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But it’s fair to say that Reagan never indulged in outright name-calling or hateful invective, stressed his desire for negotiation over confrontation and left the nuclear saber-rattling to subordinates.

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The mean-spiritedness, the compulsive name-calling, the prioritization of emotional truth over objective truth, and, perhaps most importantly, the break from the shrill ultimatums about the death of the republic.

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This awful name-calling — I mean, I can list for you, “monsters,” “crazy, leftist, unconstitutional judges,” “deranged” coming from the top.

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Instead, he attacked his critics with name-calling.

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Related Words

• insult