argue

[ ahr-gyoo ]

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.

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

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˈarguer, noun

Other Words From

• argu·er noun
• counter·argue verb counterargued counterarguing
• over·argue verb overargued overarguing
• re·argue verb reargued rearguing
• well-argued adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of argue¹

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”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of argue¹

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

Example Sentences

“President Biden argued that ‘raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice,’” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

From BBC

The debate over assisted dying has increased the focus on hospices, with some arguing that the priority should be raising the quality of end-of-life care to allow patients to make more informed choices.

From BBC

“They’re always, you could argue, one of the toughest, if not the toughest position to recruit,” Riley said.

From Los Angeles Times

Ministers have argued the hike is a tough but necessary decision required to fund public services and fix a "hole" in public spending plans they inherited from the Conservatives.

From BBC

Some have criticised Labour's plans, arguing that public ownership is unlikely to make much difference unless it is paired with investment in the railways.

From BBC

Related Words

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

When To Use

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.