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

Name-calling was one thing, but facts, alas, were facts.

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“There will be no name-calling at Swanburne, not even from the trustees.”

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The party's frustration is obvious, and it goes beyond its anger at the party political name-calling that saw the Ulster Unionists describe the Alliance last week as "divided, desperate and drifting towards nationalism".

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Paxton accused O’Rourke’s group of paying “Beto bribes,” and for weeks, across social media and in press releases, the state attorney general mustered all of his name-calling bravado, claiming that he would put Beto behind bars and shut down his “radical left-wing” organization.

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And so, in that world, all his bluff and bluster and name-calling scores points, perhaps in his primary contest against Sen. John Cornyn.

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Related Words

• insult