whataboutist

adj, noun — 2 senses

whataboutist

adj

Etymology From what about + -ist, see whataboutism.

1

Of or pertaining to whataboutism.

Similarly, in response to being told off for the state of her room, one child’s whataboutist reply will be to say: “But what about my brother’s room? His is worse.”2022 May 20, Benjamin Curtis, “Whataboutism: what it is and why it’s such a popular tactic in arguments”, in The Conversation:

whataboutist

noun

Etymology From what about + -ist, see whataboutism.

1

One who uses whataboutism.

But for the charge to really stick they have three options, none of which whataboutists usually take the trouble to perform: condemn both Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump for meeting with dictators, praise both Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump, or show how the cases are in some significant way different so that Mr. Obama deserves praise while Mr. Trump does not.2018 July 19, Ben Yagoda, “One Cheer for Whataboutism”, in The New York Times:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.