poison the well

verb

To preemptively raise ad hominem arguments in order to discredit someone.

Similar
taint the well
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Meanings

verbpoison the well (third-person singular simple present poisons the well, present participle poisoning the well, simple past and past participle poisoned the well)

present singular third person poisons the well · participle present poisoning the well · participle past poisoned the well · past poisoned the well

  1. intransitiveTo preemptively raise ad hominem arguments in order to discredit someone.

    Synonyms: taint the well

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see poison, the, well.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo preemptively raise ad hominem arguments in order to discredit someone.

Similar
taint the well

Origin

First used figuratively by Catholic philosopher and Doctor of the Church John Henry Newman in his work Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864), evidently in reference to the wartime tactic of well poisoning.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 扣帽子
  • 扣帽子 (kòumàozi)raise ad hominem arguments
Finnish myrkyttää kaivo
  • myrkyttää kaivoraise ad hominem arguments
French empoisonner le puits
  • empoisonner le puitsraise ad hominem arguments
Hebrew הרעיל את הבאר
  • הרעיל את הבארraise ad hominem arguments
Norwegian brønnpissing
  • brønnpissingraise ad hominem arguments
Polish argumentować niemerytorycznie
  • argumentować niemerytorycznieraise ad hominem arguments
Cite this entry
APA

poison the well. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poison%20the%20well

MLA

“poison the well.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poison%20the%20well. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poison the well,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poison%20the%20well.

Source: poison the well on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.