polemic
Americannoun
-
a controversial argument, as one against some opinion, doctrine, etc.
-
a person who argues in opposition to another; controversialist.
adjective
adjective
noun
-
an argument or controversy, esp over a doctrine, belief, etc
-
a person engaged in such an argument or controversy
Other Word Forms
- nonpolemic noun
- nonpolemical adjective
- nonpolemically adverb
- overpolemical adjective
- overpolemically adverb
- polemically adverb
- polemicist noun
- unpolemic adjective
- unpolemical adjective
- unpolemically adverb
Etymology
Origin of polemic
First recorded in 1610–20; from French polémique “disputatious, argumentative,” from Greek polemikós “of or for war,” equivalent to pólem(os) “war” + -ikos -ic
Explanation
A polemic is something that stirs up controversy by having a negative opinion, usually aimed at a particular group. A piece of writing can be a polemic, as long as it gets someone's goat. Polemic comes from the Greek polemikos meaning "warlike, belligerent." It's like challenging someone to a duel of ideas. These days a polemic is usually a piece of writing, such as if the Grinch published a powerful polemic against Christmas. It's like a debate, and philosophers from Nietzsche to Voltaire are known for theirs. The British philosopher John Stuart Mill had this to say about it: "The worst offense that can be committed by a polemic is to stigmatize those who hold a contrary opinion as bad and immoral men."
Vocabulary lists containing polemic
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This usefully allows the material to be less of a period piece — because, happily for Sister Helen, her polemic is somewhat dated.
From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2023
Instead, I situate my characters in what can seem like a challenging historical context — the period when France controlled a colonial empire — without resorting to caricature or engaging in polemic.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2023
The term Britpop was coined by journalist Stuart Maconie in a long polemic about the state of guitar music in the April 1993 issue of Select magazine.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2023
What Rufo is talking about is a classic bait-and-switch — cutting and pasting a polemic from one place into another for a strategic advantage.
From Salon • May 30, 2023
I was heart-sick at the prospect that he might want to re-edit the entire book into a polemic against Elijah Muhammad.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.