Word.ws English Dictionary

argumentum ad passiones

UK/ɑːɡjuːˈmɛntəm æd pæsɪˈəʊniːz/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Classical Latin/aɹ.ɡuːˈmen.tum ad pas.siˈoː.neːs/

argumentum ad passiones noun: an appeal or argument intended to convince the listener(s) by agitating the emotions, rather than by appealing to sober judgment.

Noun

argumentum ad passiones (plural argumenta ad passiones)

  1. (rhetoric) An appeal or argument intended to convince the listener(s) by agitating the emotions, rather than by appealing to sober judgment.
    • When an argument is borrowed from any topics which are ſuited to engage the inclinations and paſſions of the hearers on the ſide of the ſpeaker, rather than to convince the judgment, this is argumentum ad paſſiones, an addreſs to the paſſions; or if it be made publicly, it is called ad populum, or...1724, Isaac Watts, “Logick: or, The Right Uſe of Reaſon”, in Works, publiſhed by himſelf, V (1753), page 154
    • Divide your sentence into three distinct members, each member commencing with the same words, but terminating with words conveying different ideas. […] Sometimes three or more kindred words may have the same happy effect, in which case we should have a view […] to alliteration. […] This mode may be...1825 September, Lachlan MᶜLean, “Essay on Composition” in The Glasgow Mechanics’ Magazine IV:xcv (15th October 1825), page 142

Forms of argumentum ad passiones

pluralargumenta ad passiones

Origin of argumentum ad passiones

Latin: argūmentum (“argument”, “proof”) + ad (“to”, “toward”) + passiōnēs (accusative plural of passio, “suffering”, “passion”) ≈ “appeal to the passions”

Questions about argumentum ad passiones

What does argumentum ad passiones mean?
Argumentum ad passiones means an appeal or argument intended to convince the listener(s) by agitating the emotions, rather than by appealing to sober judgment.
What part of speech is argumentum ad passiones?
Argumentum ad passiones is a noun.
How do you pronounce argumentum ad passiones?
Argumentum ad passiones is pronounced /aɹ.ɡuːˈmen.tum ad pas.siˈoː.neːs/ (Classical Latin).
What is the plural of argumentum ad passiones?
The plural of argumentum ad passiones is argumenta ad passiones.

Words near argumentum ad passiones in the dictionary

  1. argumentum ad judicium
  2. argumentum ad lapidem
  3. argumentum ad Lazarum
  4. argumentum ad nauseam
  5. argumentum ad numerum
  6. argumentum ad passiones
  7. argumentum ad populum
  8. argumentum ad verecundiam
  9. argumentum baculinum
  10. argumentums ad hominem
  11. arguria

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: argumentum ad passiones (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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