dispute

[dih-spyoot]

verb (used without object)

disputed, disputing 

1. to engage in argument or debate.

   She liked nothing more than to dispute with her fellow law students.

2. to argue vehemently; wrangle or quarrel.

   Those two are always disputing about something or other.

   Synonyms: squabble, bicker

verb (used with object)

disputed, disputing 

1. to argue or debate about; discuss.

   Whether excessive time spent on the internet can be called an addiction is hotly disputed.

2. to argue against; call into question.

   Historians dispute this claim, suggesting Raleigh could not possibly have discovered the potato in the places he visited.

3. to quarrel or fight about; contest.

   We stopped to watch a puffed-up crow disputing territory with a cat.

4. Archaic.,  to strive against; oppose.

   to dispute an advance of troops.

noun

1. a debate, controversy, or difference of opinion.

   Players were elated when the equal pay dispute was finally resolved.

2. a wrangling argument; quarrel.

   Some women at the end of the bar were having a noisy dispute about who should be the designated driver.

   Synonyms: bickering, squabble, wrangle, altercation, disputation

dispute

verb

1. to argue, debate, or quarrel about (something)

2. (tr; may take a clause as object) to doubt the validity, etc, of

3. (tr) to seek to win; contest for

4. (tr) to struggle against; resist

noun

1. an argument or quarrel

Other Word Forms

• disputeless adjective
• disputer noun
• predispute noun
• redispute verb
• undisputing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispute¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English verb disputen, dispuiten, desputen, either from Anglo-French, Old French desputer or directly from Latin disputāre “to argue a point,” equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + putāre “to reckon, consider”; noun derivative of the verb; putative

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispute¹

C13: from Late Latin disputāre to contend verbally, from Latin: to discuss, from _dis- ¹ + putāre to think

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in dispute,

   1. being fought or argued over; debated or contested; unresolved.

      The authorship of the recently discovered text is in dispute.

      Both countries argue that the territories in dispute originally belonged to them.

   2. engaged in an argument or disagreement.

      The program enables parties in dispute to settle their differences over the internet without face-to-face mediation.

see in dispute.

Synonym Study

See argument.

Example Sentences

He said while there was no dispute over whether Martin should be prosecuted for the killings, the debate between murder and manslaughter had been complex.

Read more on BBC

Vowing a strong response, Islamabad then carried out "precision strikes" against armed groups on Afghan soil which are at the heart of the dispute, security sources said.

Read more on Barron's

The dispute injects new uncertainty into U.S.-Canada relations at a critical time for both economies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On the earnings miss, the media giant cited an expense related to a dispute with Brazilian tax authorities.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He disputed the idea that agents faced just peaceful protests.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bickering 
• brawl 
• conflict 
• controversy 
• debate 
• disagreement 
• discord 
• discussion 
• disturbance 
• feud 
• friction 
• misunderstanding 
• quarrel 
• row 
• squabble 
• strife 
• wrangle