straw man
noun
1
: a weak or imaginary opposition (such as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily confuted
2
: a person set up to serve as a cover for a usually questionable transaction
Examples of straw man in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The bread debacle can seem like a straw man designed to make the whole system look pointless and unworkable.
—
Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2024
The straw man retort here is that the police have a tough and often dangerous job ensuring public safety for all of us.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2024
The argument is that the demonstration was built on a big straw man fallacy.
—Vera Bergengruen/buenos Aires, TIME, 23 May 2024
This is a straw man argument of the sort Williams delights in, in his Sun platform on the editorial pages.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 10 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for straw man 
Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2024
The straw man retort here is that the police have a tough and often dangerous job ensuring public safety for all of us.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2024
The argument is that the demonstration was built on a big straw man fallacy.
—Vera Bergengruen/buenos Aires, TIME, 23 May 2024
This is a straw man argument of the sort Williams delights in, in his Sun platform on the editorial pages.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 10 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for straw man
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'straw man.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Straw man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straw%20man. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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