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dispute

[dih-spyoot]
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verb (used without object), dis·put·ed, dis·put·ing.
  1. to engage in argument or debate.
  2. to argue vehemently; wrangle or quarrel.
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verb (used with object), dis·put·ed, dis·put·ing.
  1. to argue or debate about; discuss.
  2. to argue against; call in question: to dispute a proposal.
  3. to quarrel or fight about; contest.
  4. to strive against; oppose: to dispute an advance of troops.
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noun
  1. a debate, controversy, or difference of opinion.
  2. a wrangling argument; quarrel.
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Origin of dispute

1275–1325; Middle English (< Anglo-French, Old French desputer) < Latin disputāre to argue a point, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + putāre to reckon, consider; see putative
Related formsdis·pute·less, adjectivedis·put·er, nounpre·dis·pute, noun, verb, pre·dis·put·ed, pre·dis·put·ing.re·dis·pute, verb, re·dis·put·ed, re·dis·put·ing.un·dis·put·ed, adjectiveun·dis·put·ed·ly, adverbun·dis·put·ing, adjectivewell-dis·put·ed, adjective
Can be confuseddispute refute

Synonyms

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2. bicker, squabble. 8. disputation, altercation, wrangle, bickering, squabble.

Synonym study

8. See argument.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for disputed

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Their precise age and antiquity have been disputed with some acrimony.

    The Dramatic Values in Plautus

    Wilton Wallace Blancke

  • "I do not suppose that one case in ten is tracked home," disputed Roland.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • These are my tenets, my lovely friend; and which I think cannot well be disputed.

  • The "Zphir" and the "Baleine" went in chase; but as there was enough for all, they disputed no longer.

  • In the debatable class there ought to be a definition of all disputed matters.

British Dictionary definitions for disputed

dispute

verb (dɪˈspjuːt)
  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
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noun (dɪˈspjuːt, ˈdɪspjuːt)
  1. an argument or quarrel
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Derived Formsdisputer, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Late Latin disputāre to contend verbally, from Latin: to discuss, from dis- 1 + putāre to think
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for disputed

dispute

v.

c.1300, from Old French desputer (12c.) "dispute, fight over, contend for, discuss," from Latin disputare "weigh, examine, discuss, argue, explain," from dis- "separately" (see dis-) + putare "to count, consider," originally "to prune" (see pave).

Used in Vulgate in sense of "to argue, contend with words." Related: Disputable; disputed; disputing. The noun is not certainly recorded before 1590s (disputacioun in that sense is from late 14c.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with disputed

dispute

see in dispute.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.