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

And as Campell and Doshi argue, the interests of America and its long-standing allies are more conjoined today than they have been in decades.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

Opinions are a dime a dozen, but personal stories are precious and much harder to argue with.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Some argue, however, the military bases create jobs and help boost Okinawa's local economy, accounting for around five percent of the region's annual income.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

Staff working in news would argue it was the current affairs side of the operation that previously let the organisation down.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Logically, Boaz knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to argue with Clara.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Edwards argues that if U.S. business investment is only growing sharply in nominal, not real, terms, his skepticism about AI is well-justified.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Bizarrely, it argues that because the U.S. is a net exporter of oil, that run-up in global prices will become “a financial benefit to the U.S. economy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

However, the 22-year-old actress says the journey her character goes on is not so different, and argues it's still relevant today.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

After pursuing the lengthier sentence against Beaird and defending it on appeal, the federal government now argues that his sentence should be vacated so that he can pursue a more lenient term.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

Vincent argues not only with Theo, and with himself, but also with friends and people he admires.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

Those who back the upgrade project, known as the A5 Western Transport Corridor project, have argued it is necessary to save lives.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Attorney Dimitar P. Georgiev argued for the FCC that ABC is trying to avoid the commission’s regulatory process by taking the case to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

"This is something that many of us have argued must be there for a good many years, and that many experiments have looked for," says Rajagopal, who was not directly involved with the new study.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

Yet Kevin Russell, representing Boulder County, argued that the lawsuit is a run-of-the-mill tort.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

“You have to let us try,” Jonah argued.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The following day, lawyers for She’s Alive asked the court to deny this motion, arguing that Seaver “attempted to evade service of process” and that the “court should not reward that behavior.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Wilson dismisses that comparison, arguing the "fundamental dynamics are completely different".

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Southeastern Asset Management earlier this year called for a sale of the toy company, arguing its brands would be better off in the hands of a private-equity firm, competitor or large media company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Backed by child protection groups, Marquetty unsuccessfully opposed the closed-door proceedings, arguing that it was "paradoxical" for a defendant accused of isolating his victims to be tried behind closed doors.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

The captain, who described himself as “a redneck,” was arguing for due process.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

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