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Polemicist

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(pronounced puh-lem-ih-sist)  noun

Definition

somebody skilled in or inclined to engage in controversy, argument, or dispute.

Other Forms

Polemic  (pronounced puh-lem-ik)  noun  [Definition: a controversial argument against, or a strong verbal attack on, some opinion, doctrine, principle, etc.]

Polemics  (pronounced puh-lem-iks)  noun  [Definition: the art or practice of disputation or controversy.]

Polemical  (pronounced puh-lem-ih-kul)  adjective  [Definition: relating to controversy or refutation; (of a speech or writing) strongly critical, argumentative, or disputatious.]

Polemicize  (pronounced puh-lem-ih-syz)  verb  [Definition: to engage in controversy or disputation.]

(Note: The words POLEMIST and POLEMIZE are variants of POLEMICIST and POLEMICIZE respectively.)

Main Example

• Christopher Hitchens, who died of cancer this past December at age 62, relished vigorous intellectual debate and was a master of polemics. Some examples of his extremely controversial and provocative stands: he called Mother Theresa a "fraud," described Henry Kissinger as a "war criminal," and his best-selling 2007 book bears the incendiary title "God is not great: How Religion Poisons Everything." Indeed, polemicizing was Hitchens's bailiwick. Not surprisingly, his obituaries on CBS and NBC included such descriptions as "a provocateur," "a Trotskyite," "best known for his outspoken atheism," and "a scorched earth polemicist."

Workplace Examples

• Okay, I have one more question, and it's a serious one--not at all polemical. I am not asking just for the fun of it or to add to the existing controversy.
• Oh, come on, John gave a really objective analysis of the risks in this plan. By no means was his presentation a polemic. On the contrary, to portray John as having a bias or a hidden agenda would be to, well, polemicize!

Other Examples

• a colleague asking you: "Did you see the Channel 5 feature on how to improve education in America? What a disappointment! It was nothing but a polemic against public schools, and a case for privatizing education. Not one word about how to get the existing schools to perform better."
• two recent books--one attacking large corporations and the other criticizing environmentalists--getting poor reviews because both publications are polemical and short on facts; a book that pretends to be an objective history of the oil industry but in reality much of which is a polemic against the major oil companies
• Michael Moore--the maker of numerous stirring but controversial documentaries and who is frequently described by his critics as "a polemicist"
• the Dalai Lama saying that to have enduring peace on earth, it is essential for leaders of different faiths to engage in a dialogue that is devoid of religious polemics
• the commonly seen documentary footage of Adolf Hitler polemicizing and using strong rhetoric to wed Germans to his cause; a rare film clip of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in intimate scenes with his family offering a glimpse of what he was like in private versus the polemicist and propagandist, delivering the fiery speeches that the public witnessed all of the time
• the polemic on the role of government that is expected to fly between President Obama and the eventual Republican presidential nominee as the November 2012 election draws near; the incessant polemicizing in Congress between the bitterly divided Democrats and Republicans

© 2012 V.J. Singal
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