ad hominem
ad hominem — 形容詞
1. describing a criticism, remark, or argument that is aimed at a person's characte
人身攻擊的
針對個人而非論點
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.
這位參議員針對對手家庭的人身攻擊言論，對辯論沒有任何幫助。
ad hominem + noun (remarks, attack, criticism)
Imani refused to take the article seriously because it used ad hominem jabs instead of logic.
Imani 不把那篇文章當一回事，因為裡面只用人身攻擊而非邏輯論證。
Readers saw that Selim's editorial on the transit plan contained only ad hominem attacks and no cost data.
讀者發現 Selim 關於交通計畫的社論只有人身攻擊，完全沒有成本數據。
Kenji ignored the ad hominem insults about his education since they were irrelevant to the proposal.
Kenji 不理會那些針對他學歷的人身攻擊侮辱，因為那些與提案無關。
Folake, a veteran political reporter, warned her interns that an ad hominem approach damages the audience's trust in the news.
資深政治記者 Folake 告誡她的實習生說，人身攻擊的報導方式會損害觀眾對新聞的信任。
At the union meeting, Yumi's ad hominem comments about the chair felt clever but changed no votes.
在工會會議上，Yumi 針對主席的人身攻擊言論聽起來很犀利，但未能改變任何投票結果。
Lukas walked out of the meeting after hearing yet another ad hominem comment about his team.
Lukas 在會議上又聽到一個針對他團隊的人身攻擊言論之後，便起身離開。
Pedro saw the criticism as a cheap ad hominem tactic rather than genuine concern about the plan.
Pedro 認為那批評是一種廉價的人身攻擊手段，並非真心關心該計畫。
- 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 — 副詞
1. by directing criticism at someone's character or personal traits rather than at
以人身攻擊
針對個人而非論點
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.
候選人 Tomás 沒有討論分區法規，反而以人身攻擊的方式批評 Reema 對可負擔住宅的支持。
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.
Hugo 覺得那位座談來賓在書評中提起作者離婚的事，是在進行人身攻擊。
When the lawyer began to argue ad hominem, the judge told him to stick to the facts.
當律師開始進行人身攻擊時，法官要求他回歸事實。
Amihan responded ad hominem, calling her coworker lazy instead of answering the question about the budget.
Amihan 以人身攻擊的方式回應，指責同事懶惰，卻沒有回答關於預算的問題。
- 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 — 名詞
1. criticism or attacks that are aimed at a person's character or personal traits r
人身攻擊
針對個人的批評攻擊
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.
那場關於學校預算的市民大會辯論很快就變成市長和家長之間的人身攻擊。
uncountable: 'descended into ad hominem' (no article)
Abigail prefers fact-based discussion to ad hominem when debating climate policy with her classmates.
Abigail 跟同學討論氣候政策時喜歡以事實為基礎的討論，不喜歡人身攻擊。
The Chronicle's editor told her team that the guidelines require writers to avoid ad hominem and focus on policies.
Chronicle 的編輯告訴她的團隊，報社方針要求撰稿人避免人身攻擊，專注於政策本身。
Ishaan urged the committee to stick to facts and leave the ad hominem out of the discussion.
Ishaan 呼籲委員會回歸事實，不要在討論中摻雜人身攻擊。
- 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.