Meanings
plural polemics · alternative obsolete polemick
- A person who writes in support of one opinion, doctrine, or system, in opposition to another; one skilled in polemics; a controversialist; a disputant.
Synonyms: controversialist, disputant, polemicist
- An argument or controversy.
comparative more polemic · superlative most polemic · alternative obsolete polemick
- Having the characteristics of a polemic.
Using a rather polemic tone, Mutua (2002) argues that interpretations of human rights are not neutral but very much embedded in cultural and political assumptions
2017, Monisha Bajaj, Human Rights Education: Theory, Research, Praxis2 more examples
A fourth hindrance is by some held to be, that many of our polemic publications are too polemic. Some hold that we should urge the simple Gospel, and make no attack on Hinduism or Muhammadanism .
1893, Report of the Third Decennial Missionary ConferenceTo explain some of these challenges, it is useful to take a brief and polemic look at the one area that is perhaps most fundamentally affected by the new conditions: the workplace.
1995, Patrick Nicol Troy, Technological Change and the CitySynonyms: polemical
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person who writes in support of one opinion, doctrine, or system, in opposition to another; one skilled in polemics; a controversialist; a disputant.
nounA strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.
adjectiveHaving the characteristics of a polemic.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveof or involving dispute or controversy
nouna writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekπολεμικός“of war”
- Frenchpolémique
- Englishpolemic
From French polémique, from Ancient Greek πολεμικός (polemikós, “of war”), from πόλεμος (pólemos, “war”). By surface analysis, polem- + -ic.
More words from French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans polemiek
- polemiekstrong written or verbal attack
Bulgarian спор, полемика
- спор (spor)strong written or verbal attack
- полемика (polemika)strong written or verbal attack
- полемичен (polemičen)having the characteristics of a polemic
Catalan polèmica, polèmic
- polèmicastrong written or verbal attack
- polèmichaving the characteristics of a polemic
Chinese Mandarin 論戰 /论战
- 論戰 /论战 (lùnzhàn)strong written or verbal attack
Czech polemika
- polemikastrong written or verbal attack
Danish polemik, polemisk
- polemikstrong written or verbal attack
- polemiskhaving the characteristics of a polemic
Dutch polemiek
- polemiekstrong written or verbal attack
Esperanto polemiko, polemika
- polemikostrong written or verbal attack
- polemikahaving the characteristics of a polemic
Finnish polemiikki, poleeminen
- polemiikkistrong written or verbal attack
- poleeminenhaving the characteristics of a polemic
French polémique, polémique
- polémiquestrong written or verbal attack
- polémiquehaving the characteristics of a polemic
German Polemik, polemisch
- Polemikstrong written or verbal attack
- polemischhaving the characteristics of a polemic
Hindi खंडन, खंडन-मंडन
- खंडन (khaṇḍan)strong written or verbal attack
- खंडन-मंडन (khaṇḍan-maṇḍan)strong written or verbal attack
Icelandic deilurit
- deiluritstrong written or verbal attack
Indonesian polemik
- polemikhaving the characteristics of a polemic
Italian polemica, polemico
- polemicastrong written or verbal attack
- polemicohaving the characteristics of a polemic
Japanese 論争
- 論争 (ronsō)strong written or verbal attack
Malay ڤوليميک, polemik
- ڤوليميکstrong written or verbal attack
- polemikstrong written or verbal attack
Norwegian Bokmål polemikk, polemisk
- polemikkstrong written or verbal attack
- polemiskhaving the characteristics of a polemic
Persian پولِمیک, پولِمیکی
- پولِمیکstrong written or verbal attack
- پولِمیکیhaving the characteristics of a polemic
Polish polemika
- polemikastrong written or verbal attack
Portuguese polémica, polêmica
- polémicastrong written or verbal attack
- polêmicastrong written or verbal attack
- polémicohaving the characteristics of a polemic
- polêmicohaving the characteristics of a polemic
Russian поле́мика
- поле́мика (polémika)strong written or verbal attack
Spanish polémica, polémico
- polémicastrong written or verbal attack
- polémicohaving the characteristics of a polemic
Swedish polemik, polemisk
- polemikstrong written or verbal attack
- polemiskhaving the characteristics of a polemic
Turkish polemik
- polemikstrong written or verbal attack
Ukrainian поле́міка
- поле́міка (polémika)strong written or verbal attack
Welsh polemeg
- polemegstrong written or verbal attack
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with polemic
Anagrams
Cite this entry
polemic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polemic
“polemic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polemic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polemic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polemic.
Source: polemic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.