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Definitions

debate

[dih-beyt] / dɪˈbeɪt /




Usage

What are other ways to say debate? To debate is to interchange formal (usually opposing) arguments, especially on public questions: to debate a proposed amendment. To argue is to present one's reasons: The scientists argued for a safer testing procedure; it may also imply disputing in an angry or excited way: His parents argue all the time. To discuss is to present varied opinions and views: to discuss ways and means. 

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But historians debate how much responsibility Rasputin bears for the fall of the Romanovs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

However, the way the analysis has been conducted has provoked heated debate.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

No. But it’s important at the moment because it’s part of a deepening policy debate about how to fix the finances of Social Security.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

However, many researchers later argued that it was actually a juvenile T. rex, fueling decades of debate.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

The full and better-recorded salvo came late in 1800 and early in 1801, during the debate in the House of Representatives over the presidential deadlock between Burr and Jefferson.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis




Vocabulary lists containing debate