Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The practice, or act of quoting people out of context, with the aim of winning an argument.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word contextomy.

Examples

  • … The practice of quoting out of context, sometimes referred to as "contextomy" or "quote mining", is a logical fallacy and type of false attribution in which a passage is removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning

    Blast From the Past 2010

  • Quoting an opponent's words out of context -- i.e., choosing quotations that are not representative of the opponent's actual intentions see contextomy and quote mining.

    Archive 2009-11-01 EliRabett 2009

  • The term is used pejoratively to accuse the "quote miner" of contextomy and misquotation, where favorable positions are amplified or falsely suggested, and unfavorable positions in the same text are excluded or otherwise obscured.

    Death of a popular anti-ID argument 2007

  • Quoting an opponent's words out of context -- i.e., choosing quotations that are not representative of the opponent's actual intentions see contextomy and quote mining.

    Rabett Run EliRabett 2009

  • Quoting an opponent's words out of context -- i.e., choosing quotations that are not representative of the opponent's actual intentions see contextomy and quote mining.

    Archive 2008-04-01 EliRabett 2008

  • Lastly, Fox concludes that no court would ever set aside the 16th Amendment, making the quote as displayed in the film a contextomy.

    WN.com - Articles related to Clinton to visit VMI, receive diplomat award 2010

  • Lastly, Fox concludes that no court would ever set aside the 16th Amendment, making the quote as displayed in the film a contextomy.

    WN.com - Articles related to Clinton to visit VMI, receive diplomat award 2010

  • Lastly, Fox concludes that no court would ever set aside the 16th Amendment, making the quote as displayed in the film a contextomy.

    WN.com - Articles related to Clinton to visit VMI, receive diplomat award 2010

  • Lastly, Fox concludes that no court would ever set aside the 16th Amendment, making the quote as displayed in the film a contextomy.

    WN.com - Articles related to Clinton to visit VMI, receive diplomat award 2010

  • This unreviewed article is full of pseudo-science, fake expertise, contextomy, untruths, distortions of facts, and other bogus, obviously aiming to con your members and the less attentive public on the issue of climatology in support of delaying action against global warming.

    Progressive Bloggers 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • The practice of "quoting out of context," a logical fallacy and type of false attribution in which a passage is removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning. Quoting out of context is often a means to set up "straw man" arguments. Straw man arguments are arguments against a position which is not held by an opponent, but which may bear superficial similarity to the views of the opponent. (Wikipedia)

    May 29, 2008

  • When an argument perplexes me

    And troubles by subtle complexity,

    So as to refute it

    I simply uproot it

    And mock it by means of contextomy.

    October 14, 2015