Adjacent Words

Debate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEBATE, n.
1. Contention in words or arguments; discussion for elucidating truth; strife in argument or reasoning, between persons of different opinions, each endeavoring to prove his own opinion right, and that of his opposer wrong; dispute; controversy; as the debates in parliament or in congress.
2. Strife; contention.
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate. Isa
1:8.
3. The power of being disputed; as, this question is settled beyond debate; the story is true beyond debate.
4. Debate or debates, the published report of arguments for and against a measure; as, the debates in the convention are printed.
DEBATE, v.t. To contend for in words or arguments; to strive to maintain a cause by reasoning; to dispute; to discuss; to argue; to contest, as opposing parties; as, the question was debated till a late hour.
Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself. Proverbs 25.
DEBATE, v.i.
1. To debate on or in, to deliberate; to discuss or examine different arguments in the mind.
2. To dispute.
3. To engage in combat.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal; "the argument over foreign aid goes on and on" [syn: argument, argumentation, debate]
2: the formal presentation of a stated proposition and the opposition to it (usually followed by a vote) [syn: debate, disputation, public debate] v
1: argue with one another; "We debated the question of abortion"; "John debated Mary"
2: think about carefully; weigh; "They considered the possibility of a strike"; "Turn the proposal over in your mind" [syn: consider, debate, moot, turn over, deliberate]
3: discuss the pros and cons of an issue [syn: debate, deliberate]
4: have an argument about something [syn: argue, contend, debate, fence]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 13th century a contention by words or arguments: as a. the formal discussion of a motion before a deliberative body according to the rules of parliamentary procedure b. a regulated discussion of a proposition between two matched sides II. verb (debated; debating) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French debatre, from de- + batre to beat, from Latin battuere Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. obsolete fight, contend 2. a. to contend in words b. to discuss a question by considering opposed arguments 3. to participate in a debate transitive verb 1. a. to argue about <the subject was hotly debated> b. to engage (an opponent) in debate 2. to turn over in one's mind <he's still debating what to do> Synonyms: see discuss • debatement noun • debater noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. (also absol.) discuss or dispute about (an issue, proposal, etc.) esp. formally in a legislative assembly, public meeting, etc. 2 a tr. consider, ponder (a matter). b intr. consider different sides of a question. --n. 1 a formal discussion on a particular matter, esp. in a legislative assembly etc. 2 debating, discussion (open to debate). Phrases and idioms: debating point an inessential matter used to gain advantage in a debate. Derivatives: debater n. Etymology: ME f. OF debatre, debat f. Rmc (as DE-, BATTLE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Debate De*bate", v. i. 1. To engage in strife or combat; to fight. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Well could he tourney and in lists debate. --Spenser. 2. 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. He presents that great soul debating upon the subject of life and death with his intimate friends. --Tatler.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Debate De*bate", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debated; p. pr. & vb. n. Debating.] [OF. debatre, F. d['e]battre; L. de + batuere to beat. See Batter, v. t., and cf. Abate.] 1. To engage in combat for; to strive for. Volunteers . . . thronged to serve under his banner, and the cause of religion was debated with the same ardor in Spain as on the plains of Palestine. --Prescott. 2. To contend for in words or arguments; to strive to maintain by reasoning; to dispute; to contest; to discuss; to argue for and against. A wise council . . . that did debate this business. --Shak. Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself. --Prov. xxv. 9. Syn: To argue; discuss; dispute; controvert. See Argue, and Discuss.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Debate De*bate", n. [F. d['e]bat, fr. d['e]battre. See Debate, v. t.] 1. A fight or fighting; contest; strife. [Archaic] On the day of the Trinity next ensuing was a great debate . . . and in that murder there were slain . . . fourscore. --R. of Gloucester. But question fierce and proud reply Gave signal soon of dire debate. --Sir W. Scott. 2. 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. Heard, noted, answer'd, as in full debate. --Pope. 3. Subject of discussion. [R.] Statutes and edicts concerning this debate. --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(debates, debating, debated) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A debate is a discussion about a subject on which people have different views. An intense debate is going on within the Israeli government... There has been a lot of debate among scholars about this. = discussion N-VAR: oft N on/over/about n 2. A debate is a formal discussion, for example in a parliament or institution, in which people express different opinions about a particular subject and then vote on it. There are expected to be some heated debates in parliament over the next few days. N-COUNT: oft N on/about n • debating ...debating skills. N-UNCOUNT: oft N n 3. If people debate a topic, they discuss it fairly formally, putting forward different views. You can also say that one person debates a topic with another person. The United Nations Security Council will debate the issue today... Scholars have debated whether or not Yagenta became a convert... He likes to debate issues with his friends. V-RECIP: pl-n V n, pl-n V wh, V n with n 4. If you debate whether to do something or what to do, you think or talk about possible courses of action before deciding exactly what you are going to do. Taggart debated whether to have yet another double vodka... I debated going back inside, but decided against it. VERB: V wh, V -ing 5. If you say that a matter is open to debate, you mean that people have different opinions about it, or it has not yet been firmly decided. Which of them has more musical talent is open to debate. PHRASE: v-link PHR

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

de-bat': This word is used only once in the Revised Version (British and American) (Pr 25:9). It evidently refers to the settling of a difficulty with a neighbor, and anticipates Mt 18:15. It argues for and shows the advantage of private, peaceable settlement of difficulties. Compare Ecclesiasticus 28:9, and see MAKEBATES.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Disputation, controversy, discussion. 2. Altercation, contest, contention, dispute, logomachy, strife of words, war of words. II. v. a. 1. Discuss, argue, dispute, contest, canvass. 2. Battle for, contest, combat for, contend for, contest by arms. III. v. n. Argue, dispute, deliberate, hold an argument.

Moby Thesaurus

Kilkenny cats, address, after-dinner speech, agitate, air, airing, allocution, altercation, analysis, analyze, application, argue, argument, argumentation, back down, balance, be abstracted, bickering, brood, buzz session, canvass, canvassing, cat-and-dog life, chalk talk, chew the cud, cloture, cogitation, colloquium, combat, comment upon, committee consideration, concentration, conference, conflict, consider, consideration, contemplate, contemplation, contend, contention, contentiousness, contest, contestation, controversy, controvert, cut and thrust, deal with, debating, declaim, declamation, deliberate, deliberate upon, deliberation, demagogue, demur, dialectic, dialogue, diatribe, digest, discept, discourse about, discuss, discussion, disputation, dispute, division, elocute, enmity, eulogy, examination, examine, exchange of views, exchange views, exhortation, falter, fear, fighting, filibuster, filibustering, filing, first reading, forensic, forensic address, formal speech, forum, funeral oration, go into, handle, hang back, harangue, heed, hem and haw, hesitate, hold forth, hortatory address, hostility, hover, hum and haw, inaugural, inaugural address, introduction, introspect, invective, investigate, investigation, jeremiad, jib, joint discussion, knock around, litigation, logical analysis, logical discussion, logomachy, logrolling, meditate, meditation, moot, mouth, mull over, muse, open discussion, open forum, orate, oration, out-herod Herod, panel discussion, paper war, pass under review, pause, pep talk, perorate, peroration, perpend, philippic, pitch, play around with, play with, polemic, ponder, ponder over, prepared speech, prepared text, public speech, pull back, quarrel, quarreling, quarrelsomeness, question, rabble-rouse, rant, rap, rap session, read, reading, reason, reason about, reason the point, recital, recitation, recite, reflect, reflection, refuting, retreat, review, rodomontade, roll call, ruminate, ruminate over, sales talk, salutatory, salutatory address, say, scrapping, screed, scruple, second reading, seminar, set speech, shilly-shally, shy, sift, speculate, speech, speechification, speeching, spiel, spout, squabbling, steamroller methods, stick at, stickle, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain at, strife, struggle, study, symposium, tabling, take up, talk, talk about, talk of, talk over, talkathon, think over, think through, think twice about, third reading, thrash out, thresh out, tirade, toss, town meeting, toy with, treat, treatment, tub-thump, valediction, valedictory, valedictory address, ventilate, ventilation, vote, war, war of words, warfare, weigh, withdraw, words, wrangle, wrangling, yield