polemic
noun
Did you know?
Diatribe, jeremiad, philippic … the English language sure has a lot of formal words for the things we say or write when we are—to use a decidedly less formal term—big mad. We will refrain from going on a tirade about it, however, especially since it’s good to have options with subtle differences in tone and meaning. Polemic, which traces back ultimately to the Greek word for war, polemos, is the word you want to refer specifically to an aggressive attack on someone’s ideas or principles. Someone who is cheesed off because they don’t like cheese, for example, wouldn’t write a polemic about it. A turophile upset about the gustatory philosophy behind their local cheesemonger’s recent offerings just might.
Examples of polemic in a Sentence
Foreign Affairs, 21 Oct. 2025
While After the Hunt rushes through how Maggie and Alma’s differences were resolved, Maggie lands a polemic Rolling Stone op-ed that further puts Alma’s tenure in jeopardy.
—Essence, 15 Oct. 2025
His brother Metrodorus struck back with a fiery polemic, Against Timocrates.
—Shai Tubali, Big Think, 30 Sep. 2025
Back across the Atlantic, the very nature of such polemic appears under threat.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for polemic
Cite this Entry
“Polemic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polemic. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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polemic
noun
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