gunslinging
- noun
- /ˈɡʌnˌslɪŋɪŋ/
- Literature
- His gunslinging approach in the debate left his opponent visibly intimidated.
Examples
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Romney's musings on foreign policy are at best off-the-cuff gunslinging and pandering that would (hopefully) disappear if he were elected and had to confront the real responsibility of decision-making in foreign affairs.
Blog text (26) -
The politician's gunslinging rhetoric aimed to dominate the conversation and silence critics.
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In the meeting, her gunslinging demeanor made it clear she was not willing to back down.
Synonyms
A long angry argument in public between opposing groups
A noisy argument in which people try to shout louder than each other
Shouting comments to interrupt and upset a person speaking
Unfriendly and aggressive behavior that tries to start a fight
A short angry argument where people try to gain an advantage
A long angry speech that attacks a person or their ideas
Showing weapons to scare other countries without fighting
A public argument where people attack each other's ideas
A willingness to argue or fight
A habit of starting arguments or fights
To try to make people angry on purpose to get a strong reaction
Shouting comments to interrupt or loudly criticize a speaker
Antonyms
How Confrontational
- Literature
- Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Gunslinging comes from the image of a gunslinger, a quick Wild West gunfighter. A helpful way to remember this use is to think of people 'pulling out guns' with their words, so gunslinging means aggressive, showy attacks in speech meant to scare or dominate others.