tendentious
/ten'denʃəs/ Cách viết khác : (tendential) /ten'denʃəl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Having or showing a strong, often controversial, bias: Describes something (like writing, speech, or an argument) that is not impartial but is deliberately slanted to promote a particular point of view, cause, or doctrine.
- Promoting a specific tendency or agenda: Implies a deliberate intention to influence opinion in a specific direction, often at the expense of fairness or objectivity.
Usage
- Typical Contexts: Used to critique political commentary, historical accounts, news reporting, or arguments that are not neutral. It carries a negative connotation, suggesting the information is unfairly persuasive or propagandistic.
- Common Collocations: , , , , .
Examples
- The documentary was criticized for its tendentious portrayal of the economic crisis, ignoring key facts that contradicted its narrative.
- His review of the policy was less an analysis and more a tendentious rant in favor of his political party.
- We must separate verifiable data from tendentious claims designed to manipulate public sentiment.
Advanced Usage
- "Tendentiousness" (noun): The quality or state of being tendentious.
- The tendentiousness of the article undermined its credibility as a news source.
- Used in academic and critical discourse to analyze rhetoric, historiography, or media bias.
Variants and Related Words
- Tendentiously (adverb): In a tendentious manner.
- The author tendentiously selected only the statistics that supported his thesis.
- Tendentiousness (noun): The characteristic of being tendentious.
Synonyms
- Biased: Prejudiced in favor of or against one thing.
- Partisan: Strongly supporting one party, faction, or cause.
- Polemical: Involving strong, controversial argument or debate.
- Propagandistic: Intended to promote a particular doctrine or point of view, often misleadingly.
- Slanted: Presented or viewed from a particular angle, especially a biased one.
Antonyms
- Impartial: Treating all rivals or disputants equally.
- Objective: Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions; considering only facts.
- Unbiased: Showing no prejudice for or against something; impartial.
- Neutral: Not supporting or helping either side in a conflict or disagreement.
Notes
- Key Distinction: While is a more general term, often implies a more active, deliberate, and systematic effort to advance a specific agenda through argument or presentation. It suggests the bias is woven into the structure of the argument itself.
Adjective
- having or marked by a strong tendency especially a controversial one
- a tendentious account of recent elections
- distinguishing between verifiable fact and tendentious assertion