Nearby Words
Synonyms
Related Questions
verb (used without object)
1.
to engage in argument or debate.
2.
to argue vehemently; wrangle or quarrel.
verb (used with object)
3.
to argue or debate about; discuss.
4.
to argue against; call in question: to dispute a proposal.
5.
to quarrel or fight about; contest.
6.
to strive against; oppose: to dispute an advance of troops.
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Dispute
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
noun
7.
a debate, controversy, or difference of opinion.
8.
a wrangling argument; quarrel.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English (< Anglo-French, Old French desputer) < Latin disputāre to argue a point, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + putāre to reckon, consider; see putative
1275–1325; Middle English (< Anglo-French, Old French desputer) < Latin disputāre to argue a point, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + putāre to reckon, consider; see putative
Related forms
dis·pute·less, adjective
dis·put·er, noun
pre·dis·pute, noun, verb, -put·ed, -put·ing.
re·dis·pute, verb, -put·ed, -put·ing.
un·dis·put·ed, adjective
EXPANDSynonyms
2. bicker, squabble. 8. disputation, altercation, wrangle, bickering, squabble. See argument.
2. bicker, squabble. 8. disputation, altercation, wrangle, bickering, squabble. See argument.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Dispute
Example Sentences
- The dispute was between two students.
- The dispute highlights the town's—and state's—predicament.
- The present dispute is very different from anything we have seen in the past.
Collins
World English Dictionary
| dispute | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to argue, debate, or quarrel about (something) |
| 2. | (tr; may take a clause as object) to doubt the validity, etc, of |
| 3. | (tr) to seek to win; contest for |
| 4. | (tr) to struggle against; resist |
| —n | |
| 5. | an argument or quarrel |
| [C13: from Late Latin disputāre to contend verbally, from Latin: to discuss, from | |
| dis'puter | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
dispute
early 13c., from O.Fr. desputer (12c.), from L. disputare "examine, discuss, argue," from dis- "separately" + putare "to count, consider," originally "to prune" (see pave). Used in Vulgate in sense of "to argue, contend with words." Related: Disputed; disputing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
Idioms & Phrases
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