Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person skilled or involved in polemics.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One given to controversy; a polemic.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare A polemic.

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

  • noun A person who writes polemics
  • noun A person who puts forward controversial views

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Marie Syrkin is best known as a polemicist for the State of Israel, whose keen arguments appeared in a wide range of publications for a period of almost seventy years.

    Marie Syrkin. 2009

  • Dowd is a polemicist, which is why conservatives like David take great offense at her remarks.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Maureen Dowd on Thomas: 2007

  • If you're calling the polemicist Arianna Huffington a "traditional network star," I demand that status be given to Ann Coulter.

    Infinite Monkeys - "...a sparkly blog..." - James Lileks Dr. Zaius 2010

  • Of course, he is one of the leading polemicists of the so-called "New Atheists" movement, but "polemicist" does not equate necessarily with "hate monger" or "intolerant thug."

    Articles » peoplesworld 2010

  • The notion of Dylan as a hardcore political activist and polemicist, or as a dyed-in-the-wool man of the left, is not only antiquated but was essentially erroneous even in the early 60s.

    Why Bob Dylan didn't make a fuss in China 2011

  • Colonial polemicist Robert Farley pens a provocative defense of the Zarek-Gaeta coup, predicated on rather cogent arguments that human/Cylon cooperation is doomed.

    Chaos Or Community | ATTACKERMAN 2009

  • Windschuttle is no historian -- he has no formal training in the discipline whatsoever -- but he made a name for himself some time ago as a far-right polemicist who found fault with some footnotes by Australian historians on the subject of the treatment of Aborigines.

    Archive 2009-12-01 2009

  • "Roy is probably now her country's most globally famous polemicist, as both a writer and speaker"

    Arundhati Roy: India's bold and brilliant daughter 2011

  • In an attempt to nullify Henry Louis Gates 'lifetime of major achievement, the far-right polemicist and intellectual wannabe mocks his better thus:

    Archive 2009-07-01 2009

  • Windschuttle is no historian -- he has no formal training in the discipline whatsoever -- but he made a name for himself some time ago as a far-right polemicist who found fault with some footnotes by Australian historians on the subject of the treatment of Aborigines.

    The decline of the West 2009

Comments

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  • Ann Coulter reckons herself one.

    February 16, 2008

  • polemicist: noun

    1. a person who engages in controversial debate.

    It's a pet peeve of mine to see words defined using derivative terms, as in polemicist being defined as a person skilled or involved in polemics.

    September 19, 2023