Using Socratic-style questioning in bad faith to force an opponent onto permanent defense. Involves nitpicking definitions, edge cases, and hypotheticals until hesitation or nuance is made to look like confusion, stupidity, or defeat. Commonly used in online debates.
He didn’t win; he used adversarial Socraticism to trap the other person in definition hell while ignoring the larger argument.
by HotTakeFactory February 3, 2026
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