polemics

[ puh-lem-iks, poh- ]

/ pəˈlɛm ɪks, poʊ- /

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noun (used with a singular verb)

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

First recorded in 1630–40; see origin at polemic, -ics

Words nearby polemics

pole jump, polemarch, pole mast, polemic, polemicize, polemics, polemist, polemize, polemology, polemoniaceous, polenta

How to use polemics in a sentence

My hope is that Rand Paul now recognizes that even the most conservative Americans want to hear about policy, not polemics.
Rand Paul's Muslim-Bashing Speech|Dean Obeidallah|October 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In America, increasingly agitated polemics by Israeli right-wingers were flying around the right-blogosphere.
How the Chuck Hagel Fight Changed the American Jewish Landscape in Washington|J. J. Goldberg|August 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The problem is that the experience appears to have left him with an insatiable appetite for polemics.
Not a Useful Contribution|Daniel Gavron|October 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Surely, the Jewish tradition deserves better than to be dragged into political polemics.
Republicans Are Not Sodomites|Simcha Gross|July 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST

“Me, I am not here to create polemics, I am not here to create problems,” he said.
French Ambassador May Be Too Sexy for Tunisia|Eric Pape|February 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
To the Railway News he was a valued contributor, and in railway polemics a master.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
All this persiflage, in harmony with the polemics of the Gorgias, derides and degrades the Rhetors collectively.
Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume III (of 4)|George Grote
That one scene makes an indelible impression on the reader's mind, and counteracts tons of polemics.
Essays on Modern Novelists|William Lyon Phelps
They must be regarded as far better authority than the writings of religious polemics.
History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume I (of 2)|John William Draper
Dryden's times, and possibly something in his own character, trained his muse to polemics.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845|Various

British Dictionary definitions for polemics

polemics

/ (pəˈlɛmɪks) /

noun

(functioning as singular) the art or practice of dispute or argument, as in attacking or defending a doctrine or belief

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

polemics

Origin of polemics

Words nearby polemics

Words related to polemics

How to use polemics in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for polemics