Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words
1

ad hominem

adjective ad ho·mi·nem \ (ˈ)ad-ˈhä-mə-ˌnem , -nəm \

Definition of ad hominem

1 :appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect
  • an ad hominem argument
2 :marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made
  • made an ad hominem personal attack on his rival

People Are Reading

tycoon
17 English Words that Come From Japanese
alt-59e8af1b31525
Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students

ad hominem was our Word of the Day on 10/28/2012. Hear the podcast!

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Get Word of the Day daily email, delivered to your inbox!

Did You Know?

Ad hominem literally means "to the person" in New Latin (Latin as first used in post-medieval texts). In centuries past, this adjective usually modified "argument." An "argument ad hominem" (or "argumentum ad hominem," to use the full New Latin phrase) was a valid method of persuasion by which a person took advantage of his or her opponent's interests or feelings in a debate, instead of just sticking to general principles. The newer sense of "ad hominem," which suggests an attack on an opponent's character instead of his or her argument, appeared only in the last century, but it is the sense more often heard today. The word still refers to putting personal issues above other matters, but perhaps because of its old association with "argument," "ad hominem" has become, in effect, "against the person."

Origin and Etymology of ad hominem

New Latin, literally, to the person

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

2

ad hominem

adverb

Definition of ad hominem

:in an ad hominem manner
  • was arguing ad hominem

Origin and Etymology of ad hominem

see 1ad hominem

Learn More about ad hominem

  1. See words that rhyme with ad hominem

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up ad hominem? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

burke

play

to suppress quietly or indirectly

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. imbroglio "a public scandal"

  2. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  3. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  4. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  5. mike "microphone"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

The Exceptions Quiz III

  • one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
  • Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Add Diction

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Where did we get 'freshman' and 'sophomore'?

alt-59e900afadac6
The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

In the past, you could invent fruit.

alt-59e8c3440f453
I'll Have the Us(ual)

Shortening 'usual': easy to say, hard to spell

alt-59e77dc36c593
The Origins of 'Lobbyist'

From the front hallways to the back rooms

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game
Editor's Note: Did You Know?