ad hominem

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

|Updated on: 26 May 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

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

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

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

borrowed from New Latin, literally, "to the person"

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1598

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Literature Terms

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

ad hominem

adverb

Definition of ad hominem

: in an ad hominem manner

was arguing ad hominem

Recent Examples of ad hominem from the Web

With its reliance on the media and its light-on-the-law ad hominem attacks, Mr. Avenatti’s style of lawyering seems, ironically, to share much with the one employed by Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s chief lawyer.

— alan feuer, New York Times, "Michael Cohen Circus Has a Ringmaster: Porn Actress’s Lawyer," 15 May 2018
Maggie Haberman, a New York Times reporter covering the White House, called Sanders brave for sitting through the jokes, which Haberman found to be too ad hominem.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Is This The Most Controversial WHCD Of All Time?," 30 Apr. 2018
Nor will the ad hominem name-calling that Trump delights in on Twitter impress Putin or Assad.

— trudy rubin, Philly.com, "Trump tweet on missile strike underscores the incoherence of his Syria policy | Trudy Rubin," 11 Apr. 2018
Since joining the fight for sensible gun policy—and bringing her voice to Twitter—she's faced an onslaught of criticism and ad hominem attacks from gun supporters.

— dave holmes, Esquire, "This Is My Plan to Beat the NRA at Its Own Game. It's Already Working.," 9 Mar. 2018
The intensity of Mulvaney’s repeated gibes at Warren for questioning his leadership of the agency stands out even in Donald Trump’s Washington, where the tone of policy debates is often acid and ad hominem.

— liz goodwin, BostonGlobe.com, "Warren’s consumer dream dismantled," 3 Mar. 2018
In our ad hominem world, this gives me great comfort.

— rosa inocencio smith, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Daily: Atrocity's Aftermath," 3 Oct. 2017
And while most Twitter wars tend to degrade into a pile of insults and ad hominem attacks, this one remained as nerdy and polite as only a debate between two British museums could be (Game of Thrones references included).

— caitlin morton, CNT, "Two British Museums Got Into a Twitter War—And It's Amazing," 18 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ad hominem.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.