ad hominem
22
7.4
- noun
- /æd ˈhɒmɪnɛm/
:
argumento ad hominem
- It's a classical ad hominem attack directed at me, not the substance of what I say.
- ad hominem arguments
Examples
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Is it only when people attack you with ad hominems that it is unacceptable?
Blog text (1) -
It's a rather transparent game of ad hominem that you're playing.
Blog text (6) -
I have provided my informed opinion and do not appreciate ad hominem attacks.
Blog text (1) -
James B, please dispense with the ad hominem personal attacks.
Blog text (7) -
As for the rest of your reply, that's just an ad hominem.
Blog text (2) -
Because that is an ad hominem, a long designated and well-known rhetorical fallacy.
Blog text (3) -
In debates, ad hominem arguments often distract from the real issues at hand.
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Her use of ad hominem attacks revealed her inability to address the topic directly.
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Critics pointed out that his responses were nothing more than ad hominem insults, not reasoned arguments.
Synonyms
2
4.9
Using insulting words to hurt or shame someone instead of discussing the problem
Antonyms
How Personal
Surface Forms
Morphology
ad + hominem
The phrase is a borrowed Latin compound whose constituents literally mean 'to/toward the person' (ad = to; hominem = person), so a learner who knows those meanings could infer it refers to something directed at a person rather than the issue. However, because the words are Latin rather than productive English components and the phrase denotes a technical logical-fallacy concept rather than a simple literal action, full comprehension of the specific argumentative meaning is not guaranteed without prior exposure or disciplinary knowledge.
Etymology
Ad hominem comes from the Latin ad and hominem, meaning 'to' and 'the person'. It names an attack that aims at the person instead of the topic, so an ad hominem is 'attacking the person rather than the argument'.