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

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”)

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

“Thus, we argue we are not near a near-term top, yet,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Pochettino might argue that the attacking influence from Willian and Hazard proved the difference, with those two players having attacking contributions in eight different matches which led to points.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Belgium, where most of the money lies in a clearinghouse, remains vehemently opposed to tapping Russian assets because of the legal and financial risks Belgian officials argue it would expose them to.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

The researchers argue that PPRHs could offer another option.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Once in a while, Xander and Rania argue.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Democratic politics since then, Mr. Jentleson argues, has evolved ever further from that model.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Sherin argues that gathering places like coffee shops, barber shops and structured activities like job training are as critical as housing for veteran well-being.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

But he argues: “While this remains problematic, the U.S. consumer is not at the breaking point from these higher oil prices.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

The levy will be charged as a percentage of the cost of accommodation, rather than as a flat fee - a move the government argues will protect budget holidays.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

He views science as an integrated web of interconnecting hypotheses, procedures, and formalisms, and argues that any impact of the world on the web can be distributed in many different ways.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Lawyers for Haji Zada argued that the case violated her right to due process under the US Constitution.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

In it he argued that all Western literature and art about the Islamic world is tainted by imperial power and its projected fantasies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

They argued that doctors may need to pay more attention to how much light their patients encounter at night, particularly among people already dealing with certain heart conditions.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

Prosecutors argued that evidence in the case, including the statue and archives from the Hong Kong Alliance's museum, should be confiscated.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

“You’re human enough for now,” Anya argued, spinning toward him.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

In the year since Kirk's killing, dozens of lawsuits have been filed across the country by people fired for their comments about the activist, arguing their terminations violated their rights to free speech.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Carr has challenged the status of “The View,” arguing that the topical chat show is not a bona fide news program and, thus, should not be entitled to the exemption.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Rights groups had opposed the clemency, arguing it undermined the rule of law.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Earlier this year, an Anthropic researcher who worked on A.I. safety quit, arguing that the “world is in peril.”

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

On a $2 billion trade—a trade that would, in the end, have transferred a $2 billion loss from Merrill Lynch to Morgan Stanley—the two traders were arguing over interest payments amounting to $800,000 a year.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• appeal
• assert
• claim
• contend
• defend
• demonstrate
• explain
• indicate
• maintain
• plead
• present
• suggest
• testify