argue

[ ahr-gyoo ]
See synonyms for: arguearguedarguesarguing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),ar·gued, ar·gu·ing.
  1. to present reasons for or against a thing: He argued in favor of capital punishment.

  2. to contend in oral disagreement; dispute: The senator argued with the president about the new tax bill.

verb (used with object),ar·gued, ar·gu·ing.
  1. to state the reasons for or against: The lawyers argued the case.

  2. to maintain in reasoning: to argue that the news report must be wrong.

  1. to persuade, drive, etc., by reasoning: to argue someone out of a plan.

  2. to show; prove; imply; indicate: His clothes argue poverty.

Origin of argue

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French arguer, from Latin argūtāre, argūtārī “to babble, chatter,” frequentative of arguere “to prove, assert, accuse” (in Medieval Latin: “to argue, reason”)

Other words from argue

  • ar·gu·er, noun
  • coun·ter·ar·gue, verb, coun·ter·ar·gued, coun·ter·ar·gu·ing.
  • o·ver·ar·gue, verb, o·ver·ar·gued, o·ver·ar·gu·ing.
  • re·ar·gue, verb, re·ar·gued, re·ar·gu·ing.
  • well-argued, adjective

Words Nearby argue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use argue in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for argue

argue

/ (ˈɑːɡjuː) /


verb-gues, -guing or -gued
  1. (intr) to quarrel; wrangle: they were always arguing until I arrived

  2. (intr; often foll by for or against) to present supporting or opposing reasons or cases in a dispute; reason

  1. (tr; may take a clause as object) to try to prove by presenting reasons; maintain

  2. (tr; often passive) to debate or discuss: the case was fully argued before agreement was reached

  3. (tr) to persuade: he argued me into going

  4. (tr) to give evidence of; suggest: her looks argue despair

Origin of argue

1
C14: from Old French arguer to assert, charge with, from Latin arguere to make clear, accuse; related to Latin argūtus clear, argentum silver

Derived forms of argue

  • arguer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012