poisoned the well

A form of poison the well — To preemptively raise ad hominem arguments in order to discredit someone.

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Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of poison the well
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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