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

But the court order did not prohibit a sale or termination of the trust, lawyers for Janie and Joey argue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

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

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

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Proponents of building data centres often argue the projects will create more, and better paying, local jobs.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Brightbill tried to argue, but he was already falling asleep.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

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

EchoStar shares have room to surge as much as 67%, argues a newly bullish J.P.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The vote of five siblings to sell the shares triggered the termination clause in the trust, and the filing argues that the trust doesn’t grant trustees discretion to disregard a valid vote to terminate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

The lawsuit argues that this establishes negligence under Philippine law.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

A second theory, unappealing to those Japanese who prefer the first theory, argues instead that the Yayoi transition represents a massive influx of immigrants from Korea, carrying Korean farming practices, culture, and genes.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Justice Samuel Alito further argued that the law was “based on the technology of the 1980s,” when people had to “go to a Blockbuster store and get a VHS tape.”

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

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

Any of those delays could have meant the police would have been unable to gather the evidence they wanted, they argued - and "given the gravity of this investigation", the police asked for search warrants.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 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

The trade was never fair, but I never argued.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

In September 2022, Salazar filed a class-action lawsuit, arguing that Paramount violated the VPPA.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

Siblings, for all their relationship complexities, usually have deep experience arguing and making up, which has built trust.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

He’s probably off somewhere, arguing about a Bloomin’ Onion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"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

It’s a news clip of the protesters arguing with the counterprotesters in front of the Manor.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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Related Words

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

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