World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English DictionariesWhataboutism
/ˌwɒt.əˈbaʊ.tɪ.zəm/Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
The technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counter-accusation or raising a different issue, typically in order to deflect attention.
"Political debates are frequently derailed by whataboutism instead of addressing the core policy issues." - 2
A conversational tactic used to neutralize criticism through the assertion of hypocrisy on the part of the accuser.
"Rather than defending their own record, they resorted to whataboutism regarding past foreign policies."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
Derived from the dialectal conversational phrase 'what about...', which dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a rhetorical counter-question. The suffix '-ism' was attached during the Cold War era, particularly in British English commentary describing Soviet propaganda techniques, to denote the practice of deflecting criticism by raising counter-accusations.
Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Whataboutism"?
10 Global Lexicons: How "Whataboutism" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
le whataboutisme
Transliteration: lə wot.ə.baʊ.tism
"Le débat a rapidement dégénéré en whataboutisme stérile."
die Relativierung
Transliteration: diː ʁela.ti.viˈʁuːŋ
"Diese Form der Ablenkung wird oft als Whataboutism bezeichnet."
il benaltrismo
Transliteration: il ben.alˈtri.zmo
"Il discorso politico è rovinato dal continuo ricorso al benaltrismo."
el y tú más
Transliteration: el i tu mas
"La discusión política actual se basa demasiado en el y tú más."
o softismo
Transliteration: u sofˈtismu
Script: o whataboutismo
"O uso do whataboutismo impede qualquer debate sério."
मुद्दा टालना
Transliteration: mudda talna
"राजनीतिक चर्चा में अक्सर मुद्दा टालने वाली प्रवृत्तियों का इस्तेमाल होता है।"
投机诡辩
Transliteration: tóujī guǐbiàn
"这种转移视线的辩论方式被称为‘另有他论’或诡辩。"
물타기
Transliteration: multagi
"상대방의 비판에 대해 엉뚱한 문제로 반박하는 물타기 전술은 피해야 한다."
ホワットアバウトズム
Transliteration: howatto abautozumu
"議論において、ホワットアバウトズムは本質的な問題をぼかす。"
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