ad hominem
ad hominem — adjective
1. describing a criticism, remark, or argument that is aimed at a person's characte
describing a criticism, remark, or argument that is aimed at a person's character or personal traits instead of at the actual ideas or claims they have presented
The senator's ad hominem remarks about his opponent's family did nothing to advance the debate.
ad hominem + noun (remarks, attack, criticism)
Imani refused to take the article seriously because it used ad hominem jabs instead of logic.
Readers saw that Selim's editorial on the transit plan contained only ad hominem attacks and no cost data.
Kenji ignored the ad hominem insults about his education since they were irrelevant to the proposal.
Folake, a veteran political reporter, warned her interns that an ad hominem approach damages the audience's trust in the news.
At the union meeting, Yumi's ad hominem comments about the chair felt clever but changed no votes.
Lukas walked out of the meeting after hearing yet another ad hominem comment about his team.
Pedro saw the criticism as a cheap ad hominem tactic rather than genuine concern about the plan.
- personal
less formal and broader in meaning; not limited to argument contexts
- defamatory
stronger in tone; implies the claim is false and damaging
- slanderous
legally specific; always implies a false spoken statement
文法句型
ad hominem + noun (attack, remark, criticism, argument, comment, insult)
用法筆記
Commonly modifies nouns like 'attack', 'remark', 'criticism', 'argument', 'comment', 'insult', or 'tactic'. This covers both general criticism aimed at a person and the specific rhetorical figure where an argument substitutes character attacks for logical counter-arguments — the underlying meaning is the same.
常見錯誤
ad hominem — adverb
1. by directing criticism at someone's character or personal traits rather than at
by directing criticism at someone's character or personal traits rather than at the actual points they are making
Instead of discussing the zoning law, candidate Tomás argued ad hominem, attacking Reema's support for affordable housing.
verb + ad hominem (argue / speak ad hominem)
Hugo felt the panelist spoke ad hominem by bringing up the author's divorce during a book review.
When the lawyer began to argue ad hominem, the judge told him to stick to the facts.
Amihan responded ad hominem, calling her coworker lazy instead of answering the question about the budget.
- personally
broader in meaning; can refer to any personal reference, not just in argument
- objectively
implies focusing on facts and evidence without personal bias
文法句型
verb + ad hominem (argue, attack, criticize + ad hominem)
用法筆記
Modifies verbs of speaking or arguing such as 'argue', 'speak', 'respond', 'criticize'. The adverb form is less common than the adjective form.
ad hominem — noun
1. criticism or attacks that are aimed at a person's character or personal traits r
criticism or attacks that are aimed at a person's character or personal traits rather than at their ideas or arguments
The town-hall debate about the school budget quickly descended into ad hominem from both the mayor and the parents.
uncountable: 'descended into ad hominem' (no article)
Abigail prefers fact-based discussion to ad hominem when debating climate policy with her classmates.
The Chronicle's editor told her team that the guidelines require writers to avoid ad hominem and focus on policies.
Ishaan urged the committee to stick to facts and leave the ad hominem out of the discussion.
- mudslinging
informal register; commonly used in political contexts
- character assassination
stronger in meaning; implies a sustained and deliberate attack on reputation
- fair criticism
focuses on ideas rather than personal traits
- reasoned debate
implies logical and evidence-based discussion
文法句型
ad hominem as a subject or object
engage in ad hominem
resort to ad hominem
用法筆記
Used as an uncountable noun referring to this type of argumentation in general. Unlike the adjective forms, it does not modify a following noun.