polemic

noun

Definition of polemicnext
as in diatribe

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of polemic The album is both plea, polemic and protest, but its argument — that oppressed and working people deserve rights and dignity, and that those things have historically been won through rebellion and revolution — is hardly radical. — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 19 June 2026 His wartime polemic, Our Banner in the Sky (1861), is a visual pun in which morning stars and sunrise clouds conspire to suggest a tattered American flag. — Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 13 June 2026 There is a long history of political polemics about the relation between journalism and government, and a substantial body of scholarly research and theory on that relationship. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026 Same polemic, just with Bush-era archetypes. — Emma Green, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for polemic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polemic
  1. diatribe
  2. criticism
  3. tirade
  4. harangue
  5. rebuke
  6. excoriation
  7. castigation
Noun
  • During the 2007 ceremony, Field took to the stage to accept her award — only to be cut off after launching into an emotional diatribe about the war in Iraq.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The two agreed that Springsteen's penchant in recent years for going on mid-concert political diatribes is wearing a little thin.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of diatribe
Noun
  • Carlson has faced criticism for interviewing Holocaust revisionist Darryl Cooper in 2024 and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, made antisemitic comments, and praised Adolf Hitler.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The statement came only after Thomas called out the commissioner, intensifying criticism that the league had been reactive throughout the controversy.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of criticism
Noun
  • After the run that Lisa couldn’t complete, Whitney tracks her down at the bottom of the mountain to officially apologize for her drunken tirade against her at that drag brunch, and against all odds, Lisa is fully ready to hear her out.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher went on one of his bad-boy tirades during a performance at the 1996 show by swearing, wandering the stage and making lewd gestures during his brother Noel’s guitar solo.
    — Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of tirade
Noun
  • The movie is an epic series of harrumphs and harangues, propelled from room to room—and, in time, out into the world beyond the estate—by a spirit of impudent absurdism and corrosive cynicism which seems to emanate from Digger himself.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Stephen Adly Guirgis, a New York playwright who specializes in urban pressure-cooker dramas, has a gift for writing subway strap-hanger harangues.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of harangue
Noun
  • This, the perfectly decent people of Kettleborough reasoned, was a natural and godly rebuke for Susan and Cuthbert’s sin.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Azaria’s 2017 manslaughter conviction, for a killing caught on cellphone video, was a rare rebuke of a soldier’s battlefield conduct.
    — Cara Anna, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of rebuke
Noun
  • If Trump is at all interested in avoiding further excoriation at home, brevity must be his priority.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
  • There’ve been the usual marches around the country, signs, excoriations from members of Congress, all under the same umbrella of resistance.
    — Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Definition of excoriation
Noun
  • Not everyone on the right is onboard with the Kimmel castigation.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 29 Apr. 2026
  • The standoff centered on the now-former assistant attorney general’s public and internal castigation of pediatric gender medicine.
    — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 31 Jan. 2026
Definition of castigation

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poled
polemic
polemical
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Cite this Entry

“Polemic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polemic. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on polemic

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about polemic

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