Debate
[dɪ'beɪt] or [dɪ'bet]
Definition
(noun.) the formal presentation of a stated proposition and the opposition to it (usually followed by a vote).
(verb.) argue with one another; 'We debated the question of abortion'; 'John debated Mary'.
(verb.) discuss the pros and cons of an issue.
Edited by Harold--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To engage in combat for; to strive for.
(v. t.) To contend for in words or arguments; to strive to maintain by reasoning; to dispute; to contest; to discuss; to argue for and against.
(v. i.) To engage in strife or combat; to fight.
(v. i.) To contend in words; to dispute; hence, to deliberate; to consider; to discuss or examine different arguments in the mind; -- often followed by on or upon.
(v. t.) A fight or fighting; contest; strife.
(v. t.) Contention in words or arguments; discussion for the purpose of elucidating truth or influencing action; strife in argument; controversy; as, the debates in Parliament or in Congress.
(v. t.) Subject of discussion.
Edited by Clifford
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Disputation, controversy.[2]. Altercation, contest, contention, dispute, logomachy, strife of words, war of words.
v. a. Discuss, argue, dispute, contest, canvass.
v. n. [1]. Argue, dispute, deliberate, hold an argument.[2]. (Rare.) Fight, contend, struggle.
Checked by Desmond
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Contend, dispute, argue, moot, controvert, contest, wrangle, discuss,deliberate, question, ventilate
ANT:Yield, concede, surrender, admit, allow
Inputed by Chris
Definition
n. a contention in words or argument: (obs.) strife.—v.t. to contend for in argument: (arch.) to fight for.—v.i. to deliberate: to join in debate.—adjs. Debat′able liable to be disputed; Debate′ful (Spens.) quarrelsome.—ns. Debate′ment (Spens. Shak.) controversy; Debat′er.—adv. Debat′ingly.—Debatable land a tract of border land between Esk and Sark claimed both by England and Scotland.
Checker: Williams
Examples
- We retired from the debate which had followed on his nomination: we, his nominators, mortified; he dispirited to excess. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- The debate had ended at three in the morning. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- A debate is not what a debate used to be; the House is not what the House used to be; even a Cabinet is not what it formerly was. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Raymond, while he knew that his plans and prospects were to be discussed and decided during the expected debate, was gay and careless. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Now,' was his debate with himself 'shall I foller you on, or shall I let you loose for this once, and go a fishing? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Any inward debate Lydgate had as to the consequences of this engagement which had stolen upon him, turned on the paucity of time rather than of money. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Why don't you read _El Debate_ then? Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- The debates were exciting, and were upon the subject of the situation the South was in at that time, particularly the State of Georgia. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- I was telling him, the other day, how much we should be disappointed if he did not take a very active part in the debates. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The violence of our party debates about the new constitution seems much abated, indeed almost extinct, and we are getting fast into good order. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- It is true that the debates of both Houses of Parliament the whole session through, uniformly tended to the protracted deliberation, How not to do it. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- A DISSOLUTION OF PARTNERSHIP I did not allow my resolution, with respect to the Parliamentary Debates, to cool. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- There was a most irritating end to every one of these debates. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- In the debates to which this memorial gave rise, several attempts were made to justify the trade. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Here we debated the wisdom of sinking the craft before leaving her, but finally decided that it would add nothing to our chances for escape. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- And, when the matter was debated in council, the wisest part of the ministry were of my opinion. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- The question to be debated was, whether the _Yahoos_ should be exterminated from the face of the earth? Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- Nor, how I debated whether I should go away without ringing; nor, how I should undoubtedly have gone, if my time had been my own, to come back. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- We should have considered more carefully our future plans, and debated concerning the spot where we should in future dwell. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- It is a trivial question that has been preposterously debated. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Mr. Lorry reddened as if he were conscious of having debated the point in his mind, and Mr. Carton made his way to the outside of the bar. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- What is worth debating is the method by which change is to come about. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- An attempt was made to organize a debating club, but it was a failure. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- So debating becomes a way of confirming your own prejudices; it is never, never in any debate I have suffered through, a search for understanding from the angles of two differing insights. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- That too is why debating is such a wretched amusement and most partisanship, most controversy, so degrading. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Lydgate did not answer, and she saw that he was debating with himself. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- I was debating whether I should pretend that I was not well, and fly--I don't know where--upon my gallant grey, when Dora and Miss Mills met me. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Nobody need waste his time debating whether or not there are to be great changes. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Checked by Leda