steelman
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steelman¹
Where it comes from
From steel + -man. For the second definition, coined as the inverse of straw man.
noun steelmen · steel-man
- A male steelworker.
-
A stronger version of an argument that one is about to critically analyze.
a "steel man" is an improvement of someone's position or argument that is harder to defeat than their originally stated position or argument.
Opposite: strawman
verb steelmans · steelmanning · steelmanned · steel-man
-
To repair flaws in an argument before analyzing it critically; to refute or to weaken the force of a stronger version of an argument than what was actually given.
I don't agree with the argument, because of 4. If I were to steelman it, which I may try but after work or maybe during lunch, I would first try to make it impervious to this assault:
Opposite: straw man
Steelman²
proper noun Steelmans
- A surname.
Translations
Every language
verb Translations
| Español | abordar un argumento amacizado |
|---|
Talk about this word "steelman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/steelman. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. steelman. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/steelman "steelman." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/steelman.Cite this
@misc{steelman_2026,
title = {steelman},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/steelman},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
