argue

American  

[ahr-gyoo] / ˈɑr gju /

verb (used without object)

• argues,
  present (3rd person singular)
• argued,
  past participle,  past
• arguing
  present participle

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.

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verb (used with object)

• argues,
  present (3rd person singular)
• argued,
  past participle,  past
• arguing
  present participle

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.

3. to persuade, drive, etc., by reasoning.

   to argue someone out of a plan.

4. to show; prove; imply; indicate.

   His clothes argue poverty.

argue British  

/ ˈɑːɡjuː /

verb

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

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

4. (tr; often passive) to debate or discuss

   the case was fully argued before agreement was reached

5. (tr) to persuade

   he argued me into going

6. (tr) to give evidence of; suggest

   her looks argue despair

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Usage

What are other ways to say argue? To argue is to present reasons for or against a thing or to contend in oral disagreement. How does argue compare to discuss and debate? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• arguer
  noun
• counterargue
  verb
• overargue
  verb
• reargue
  verb
• well-argued
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• arguing
  present
• argued
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• argue
  simple
• argues
  simple
• have argued
  perfect
• has argued
  perfect
• am arguing
  progressive
• are arguing
  progressive
• is arguing
  progressive
• have been arguing
  perfect progressive
• has been arguing
  perfect progressive

Past

• argued
  simple
• had argued
  perfect
• was arguing
  progressive
• were arguing
  progressive
• had been arguing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will argue
  simple
• will have argued
  perfect
• will be arguing
  progressive
• will have been arguing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of argue

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”)

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Explanation

When people argue, they disagree with each other, sometimes loudly. You don’t always have to yell when you argue, though, sometimes you’re just trying to prove a point. If your mom tells you to be home for dinner, don’t argue! When you think of the word argue, you might think of angry people screaming at one another, but that’s only one meaning of this verb. The other is "to present reasons and evidence about a stance or opinion." For example, if you give a speech in support of world peace, you might argue that nations accomplish more when they work together, giving examples to support this idea. When you present reasons why you believe in something, you argue for it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

argue argues argued arguing

The activists may argue that the post was not in earnest, and that no one involved ever seriously intended to bring pills into Texas.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

City will argue this does not have the full context of the situation and is not proof they have been inconsistent with evidence.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Carney has repeatedly cited the proposed pipeline to argue for Alberta's future prosperity within a united Canada.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley Law, said data centers will argue they fit the definition — and then it will be up to the courts to decide.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

When the lid is off and the poi is exposed, no one in the family can argue.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

The show argues that Lichtenstein—a figurehead of “appropriation art” before it was a term—embraced subjects and styles used my mass media in ways that make his work “strikingly prescient and remarkably relevant.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The lawsuit argues that this establishes negligence under Philippine law.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

When RBC upgraded the sector back in July, the sector was reasonably valued, but that’s not the case today, Calvasina argues.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

In a Daily Journal op-ed, Rachelle Chong, a former Federal Communications Commission member, similarly argues that the definition refers to internet access bought from a provider like AT&T or Comcast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

Benefo argues to an explosion of chatter around the table.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Krems argued in court that his client should be freed because his health is deteriorating in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Banning fraternities or pushing them off campus would only re-create the same problems elsewhere, Miltenberg argued.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

He argued that the device needed only a relatively modest increase in its uranium supply to become operational.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Mourning Israeli civilians, she argued, did not negate the suffering of Palestinians or diminish the struggle against Israel’s government.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

Kappe had argued that it wasn't necessary to wait but finally relented.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

"They have implemented AI... which is not tested," Ahamed said, arguing that the technology risks overriding the judgement of local officials familiar with voters and communities.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

“A conventional data center ordinarily performs an entirely different function,” she wrote, arguing data centers aren’t in play.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

The issue for Swindon, however, is that some of the council leaders in Berkshire and Oxfordshire do not want Swindon to join them in a Thames Valley authority, arguing the geography does not work.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

One example Reckitt shared was how sales of Dettol rose after one video showed a parent arguing with their teenager about smelly shoes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

I left them there arguing with each other and took a short walk while they figured things out.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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Related Words

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