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oppugn

[uh-pyoon]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to assail by criticism, argument, or action.
  2. to call in question; dispute.
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Origin of oppugn

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin oppugnāre to oppose, attack, equivalent to op- op- + pugnāre to fight, derivative of pugnus fist; see pugilism
Related formsop·pugn·er, nounun·op·pugned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

criticizecontradictcontrovertattackarguedebate
British Dictionary definitions for oppugn

oppugn

verb
  1. (tr) to call into question; dispute
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Derived Formsoppugner, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin oppugnāre, from ob- against + pugnāre to fight, from pugnus clenched fist; see pugnacious
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 oppugn

v.

mid-15c., from Latin oppugnare "to fight against, attack, assail," from ob- "toward, against" (see ob-) + pugnare "to fight" (see pugnacious). Related: Oppugned; oppugning.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper