Basically, it is a personal attack on an arguer that brings the individuals's personal circumstances, trustworthiness, or character into question.
Source: wiktionary
Personal attack
Synonyms for "personal attack" (10 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (2)
Noun(2 words)
ad hominemad hominem style
Strong matches (3)
Noun(2 words)
character attackinsult
Adjective(1 words)
illogical argument
Related words (5)
Noun(5 words)
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
6 entriesMore specific
9 entriesad hominemcharacter assassinationcharacter attackinsultinsulting commentname callingname-callingrude remarkverbal abuse
Collocations
10 entriesad hominemcharacter assassinationcharacter attackfact based argumentlogical fallacyname callingname-callingpersonal-attack languagepersonal-attack rhetoricverbal abuse
Inflections
3 entriesmore personal-attackmost personal-attackpersonal attacks
Derivations
3 entriesSample sentences
1 total sentences available.