polemics
[puh-lem-iks, poh-]
- the art or practice of disputation or controversy: a master of polemics.
- the branch of theology dealing with the history or conduct of ecclesiastical disputation and controversy.
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Compare irenics.
Origin of polemics
polemic
[puh-lem-ik, poh-]
- a controversial argument, as one against some opinion, doctrine, etc.
- a person who argues in opposition to another; controversialist.
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- Also po·lem·i·cal. of or relating to a polemic; controversial.
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Origin of polemic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for polemics
Contemporary Examples
My hope is that Rand Paul now recognizes that even the most conservative Americans want to hear about policy, not polemics.
The problem is that the experience appears to have left him with an insatiable appetite for polemics.
As the fate of the Soviet Union dramatically showed, modern superpowers cannot be sustained by polemics and police forever.
Historical Examples
The time which he had to devote to his polemics he regards as lost. '
Erasmus and the Age of ReformationJohan Huizinga
In the great act of the Reformation their polemics were merely an after-play.
Erasmus and the Age of ReformationJohan Huizinga
Polemics would ensue; he would have to answer in the papers.
Madame BovaryGustave Flaubert
Polemics are entirely absent from the poetry of his old age.
The Master BuilderHenrik Ibsen
I should not like to be misunderstood in my polemics against phylogeny.
The Science and Philosophy of the OrganismHans Driesch
polemics
- (functioning as singular) the art or practice of dispute or argument, as in attacking or defending a doctrine or belief
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polemic
- of or involving dispute or controversy
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- an argument or controversy, esp over a doctrine, belief, etc
- a person engaged in such an argument or controversy
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Word Origin
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 polemics
polemic
n.
1630s, "controversial argument or discussion," from French polémique (16c./17c.), noun use of adjective meaning "disputatious, controversial" (see polemic (adj.)).
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polemic
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).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper