name-calling

[ neym-kaw-ling ]

noun

1. the use of abusive names to belittle or humiliate another person in a political campaign, an argument, etc.

name-calling

noun

1. verbal abuse, esp as a crude form of argument

Word History and Origins

Origin of name-calling¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

My last experience of having the name hurled at me on the street shocked me not so much in the name-calling, but the absolute lack of contrition shown even when challenged.

From BBC

A guy whose own running mate referred to him as “America’s Hitler,” called him a reprehensible idiot and “a total fraud,” will soon be moving back into the White House after months of juvenile name-calling and vulgarity.

From Los Angeles Times

In Rancho Palos Verdes, 82-year-old Norman Eagle thinks Trump’s antics can be appalling, and for a presidential candidate, “the name-calling is beyond anything that I’ve experienced in my lifetime.”

From Los Angeles Times

Her phone often glows with backbiting messages from Republican factions going after one another, notably in a recent intraparty skirmish over the appointment of a district clerk, which led to name-calling and a lawsuit.

From Los Angeles Times

It is a seething tapestry of social media attacks, conspiracies, Bible quotes and name-calling under the maxim that all politics is local, if viscerally so.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• insult