polemical
Americanadjective
-
consisting of or relating to a polemic; controversial or divisive.
-
argumentative, combative or difficult.
noun
Other Word Forms
Explanation
The adjective polemical describes something related to an argument or controversy. To keep the peace, avoid discussing politics at Thanksgiving, which usually deteriorates into a polemical argument with Uncle Bob. Better stick to football or apple versus pumpkin pie. Polemical is the adjective form of the noun polemic, which itself comes from the Greek word, polemos, meaning "war." Use polemical to describe a controversy or argument that could end up as a huge conflict, because polemical refers to a major disagreement. The word is often used to describe speech and writing — a polemical discussion or a polemical essay — that usually starts a war of words.
Vocabulary lists containing polemical
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Scarlet Letter
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Introducing Rhetoric: Using the "Available Means" (Chapter 1)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
His public projects are populist but not polemical, utopian but not ideological.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
“Doing a polemical, flag-wavy, tear-jerky adoption movie felt like really the wrong vibe for us,” Crano added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
It wasn’t his now-ubiquitous polemical flourish, or even what that implied about his approach to governing.
From Salon ● May 18, 2025
At the same time, groups that feel like they’re under attack will look for their own messengers to deliver polemical responses which reject every criticism and assign blame somewhere else; this is what “stanning” is.
From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2024
As used by Lucretius, they add to our sense of the vividness of the book, of the constant personal address of the author, and of his ardent polemical tone.
From The Roman Poets of the Republic by W. Y. Sellar
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.
