Definition of "name-calling" []

• Verbal abuse; insulting language: "name-calling, mud-slinging, suits and countersuits” ( Wall Street Journal). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I endured those tough years of loneliness and name-calling by working hard, fending off the bullies with wit, humor and inner toughness, and by being one of the smartest kids in the classroom."
• "The hyperbole, and the name-calling, and the inability to have a discussion without resorting to either of those tactics is really undermining the way politics is done in America, and the way anything can get done."
• "Ms. CARY: Well, I think when you can't argue on the policies, you start throwing the kitchen sink and name-calling and using this extreme label."