controversy

[ kon-truh-vur-see; British also kuhn-trov-er-see ]
See synonyms for controversy on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural con·tro·ver·sies.
  1. a prolonged public dispute, debate, or contention; disputation concerning a matter of opinion.

  2. contention, strife, or argument.

Origin of controversy

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English controversie, from Anglo-French, from Latin contrōversia, from contrōvers(us) “turned against, disputed” (contrō-, variant of contrā “against” + versus “turned,” past participle of vertere “to turn”) + -ia -y3

synonym study For controversy

2. See argument.

Other words for controversy

Other words from controversy

  • pre·con·tro·ver·sy, noun, plural pre·con·tro·ver·sies.

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

How to use controversy in a sentence

  • He has been speaking all that time, taking a part in all the controversies of the day.

  • From questions of this class, spring all our constitutional controversies, and we divide upon them into majorities and minorities.

  • In his political controversies, it must be confessed, his equanimity deserted him, and he is often intolerant and unfair.

    The Life of Mazzini | Bolton King
  • Names being regarded as things in such controversies, they bestowed on the anti-improvement gentlemen the appellation of Radicals.

  • His controversies with those under him form an interesting chapter of Confederate records.

    Stone's River | Wilson J. Vance

British Dictionary definitions for controversy

controversy

/ (ˈkɒntrəˌvɜːsɪ, kənˈtrɒvəsɪ) /


nounplural -sies
  1. dispute, argument, or debate, esp one concerning a matter about which there is strong disagreement and esp one carried on in public or in the press

Origin of controversy

1
C14: from Latin contrōversia, from contrōversus turned in an opposite direction, from contra- + vertere to turn

Derived forms of controversy

  • controversial (ˌkɒntrəˈvɜːʃəl), adjective
  • controversialism, noun
  • controversialist, noun
  • controversially, adverb

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