Straw Man
- “when someone twists what I said into something dumber and argues with that”
- “arguing against a point I never actually made”
- “putting words in my mouth then knocking them down”
- “a debate trick where they exaggerate your view to win”
:: COMPARE ::
Straw manvsAd hominem
The short answer
A straw man attacks a distorted version of the argument. An ad hominem skips the argument altogether and attacks the person making it. One misrepresents what was said; the other changes the subject to who said it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Straw man | Ad hominem |
|---|---|---|
| The target | The argument, distorted | The person |
| The tactic | Misrepresent, then refute | Discredit the speaker |
| What's dodged | The real claim | The claim entirely |
| Both are | Informal fallacies | Informal fallacies |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Straw Man rather than Ad hominem are usually searching for phrases like “when someone twists what I said into something dumber and argues with that”, “arguing against a point I never actually made”, “putting words in my mouth then knocking them down”.
Read either one in full
Tell these apart too