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What does ad hominem mean?

Definitions for ad hominem
æd ˈhɒm ə nəm, -ˌnɛmad hominem

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ad hominem.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. ad hominemadjective

    appealing to personal considerations (rather than to fact or reason)

    "ad hominem arguments"

Wiktionary

  1. ad hominemnoun

    A fallacious objection to an argument or factual claim by appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim; an attempt to argue against an opponent's idea by discrediting the opponent himself.

  2. ad hominemnoun

    A personal attack.

  3. ad hominemadverb

    In an ad hominem manner.

  4. ad hominemadjective

    Of or relating to ad hominem.

  5. Etymology: Shortened from the expression argumentum ad hominem, argument at the man (man as in a human being, not man as a male). From argumentum (meaning "argument") + ad (meaning "to" or "at") + hominem, the of homo (meaning "man"). It can also mean attacking the messenger.

ChatGPT

  1. ad hominem

    Ad hominem is a type of argument or rebuttal in which a person's character, motives or other attributes are attacked or criticized, rather than addressing the substance of their argument or position. It is often considered a fallacy, as it diverts from the main topic and does not provide a valid or logical response to the argument at hand.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Ad hominem

    a phrase applied to an appeal or argument addressed to the principles, interests, or passions of a man

  2. Etymology: [L., to the man.]

Wikidata

  1. Ad hominem

    An ad hominem, short for argumentum ad hominem, is an argument made personally against an opponent instead of against their argument. Ad hominem reasoning is normally described as an informal fallacy, more precisely an irrelevance.

Suggested Resources

  1. ad hominem

    Song lyrics by ad hominem -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ad hominem on the Lyrics.com website.

How to pronounce ad hominem?

How to say ad hominem in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of ad hominem in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of ad hominem in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of ad hominem in a Sentence

  1. Limbaugh Show producer James Golden:

    It was n’t until Rush spoke up against Democrat policies that they started giving him those horrible names, president Trump has suffered more defamation of President Trump character than any president in modern times because these people are relentless in their opposition to President Trump -- and they can not argue it on merit, so they use ad hominem attacks to smear and castigate their opponents.

  2. Tony Sayegh:

    Among the more damaging is that it reveals another example of how hollow the ‘war on women’ argument is when coming from the Hillary camp, disabling that most favorite of perennial liberal ad hominem attacks is the equivalent of taking Superman's ability to leap tall buildings away, for both Anthony Weiner and Bill Clinton, their sexual misconduct went well beyond the realm of a ‘boys will be boys’ defense.And it was Hillary and Huma to the rescue all in the name personal advancement.That is not a story Hillary wants out there, especially through a more popular medium that has the ability to reach a broader audience.

  3. Chrystia Freeland:

    Canada does not conduct its diplomacy through ad hominem attacks... and we refrain particularly from ad hominem attacks when it comes to a close ally.

  4. Justice Samuel Alito:

    Too much public discourse today is sullied by ad hominem rhetoric, that is, attempts to discredit an argument not by proving that it is unsound but by attacking the character or motives of the argument's proponents, the majority regrettably succumbs to this trend.

  5. President Barack Obama:

    We just don't fling out ad hominem attacks like that because it doesn't help inform the American people.

more sentences »

References

Translations for ad hominem

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • persönlicher AngriffGerman
  • ad hominemGreek
  • henkilökohtaisuus, ad hominemFinnish
  • attaque personnelle, Ad hominemFrench
  • बगैर सोचे - समझे प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त करनाHindi
  • 人身攻撃Japanese
  • переход на личности, личные нападкиRussian
  • personangreppSwedish

Get even more translations for ad hominem »

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"ad hominem." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/ad+hominem>.

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