polemic

 
Pronunciation: /pəˈlɛmɪk/

noun

  • a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something: his polemic against the cultural relativism of the Sixties [mass noun]: a writer of feminist polemic
  • (usually polemics) the practice of engaging in controversial debate or dispute: the history of science has become embroiled in religious polemics

adjective

Derivatives

polemicist

Pronunciation: /-sɪst/
noun

polemicize

(also polemicise) verb

Origin:

mid 17th century: via medieval Latin from Greek polemikos, from polemos 'war'