polemic

[puh-lem-ik, poh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR polemic ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a controversial argument, as one against some opinion, doctrine, etc.

a person who argues in opposition to another; controversialist.

adjective

Also po·lem·i·cal. of or relating to a polemic; controversial.

Origin of polemic

1630–40; < Greek polemikós of or for war, equivalent to pólem(os) war + -ikos -ic

Related formspo·lem·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·po·lem·ic, noun, adjectivenon·po·lem·i·cal, adjectivenon·po·lem·i·cal·ly, adverbo·ver·po·lem·i·cal, adjectiveo·ver·po·lem·i·cal·ly, adverbun·po·lem·ic, adjectiveun·po·lem·i·cal, adjectiveun·po·lem·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for polemic

Contemporary Examples of polemic

Grizzard said he knew early on that the study might be received as polemic.
Playing Violent Video Games Makes You a Better Person, Study Says
Kevin Zawacki
July 4, 2014
He scoffed as Abu Hassar began to roll into this Islamist polemic.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi
Elliot Ackerman
January 21, 2014
But mixed with that portion of truth is a larger portion of polemic and apologetic.
My Pushback to Chris Hayes
David Frum
September 27, 2013
But neither is it a rigorous sociological study or a polemic or a jeremiad.
Too Soon to Write: Choire Sicha’s ‘Very Recent History’
Stefan Beck
August 8, 2013
Headlines in France on Wednesday said the pop singer "avoided a clash," "calmed the polemic," "gave up," or even "gave in."
Madonna Caves in French Swastika Kerfuffle
Tracy McNicoll
August 22, 2012

Historical Examples of polemic

It is in the dialogue form he often adopted for polemic writing.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine
It is not so much in the polemic or in the scholar we are interested, as in the man.
Andrew Melville
William Morison
But he possessed other accomplishments beside those of the polemic.
Western Characters
J. L. McConnel
My agnosticism was bitter in those days, bitter and polemic.
A Tramp's Notebook
Morley Roberts
That is to say, hypotheses are admissible in polemic, but not in the sphere of dogmatism.
The Critique of Pure Reason
Immanuel Kant

British Dictionary definitions for polemic

polemic

adjective Also: po'lemical

of or involving dispute or controversy

noun

an argument or controversy, esp over a doctrine, belief, etc

a person engaged in such an argument or controversy

Derived Formspolemically, adverbpolemicist (pəˈlɛmɪsɪst) or polemist (ˈpɒlɪmɪst), noun

Word Origin for polemic

C17: from Medieval Latin polemicus, from Greek polemikos relating to war, from polemos war

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for polemic

1630s, "controversial argument or discussion," from French polémique (16c./17c.), noun use of adjective meaning "disputatious, controversial" (see polemic (adj.)).

adj.

1640s, from French polémique (from Middle French polemique) "disputatious, controversial," or directly from Greek polemikos "of war, warlike, belligerent; skilled in war, fit for service; like an enemy, stirring up hostility," from polemos "war," of unknown origin. Related: Polemical (1630s).