argument

1 an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions <the couple's arguments were often loud enough to be heard all over the neighborhood> Synonyms altercation, argle-bargle [chiefly British], argy-bargy [chiefly British], battle royal, bicker, brawl, contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, donnybrook, falling-out, fight, hassle, imbroglio, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, rhubarb, row, scrap, set-to, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle Related Words clash, run-in, skirmish, tangle, tussle; logomachy; feud, vendetta; attack, contention, dissension (also dissention); debate, difference, disputation; fuss, objection, protest, protestation; affray [chiefly British], fisticuffs, fracas, fray, free-for-all, melee (also mêlée); catfight

2 a statement given to explain a belief or act <gave a solid argument for the redeeming value of the shockingly violent movie> Synonyms account, accounting, reason, case, explanation, rationaleRelated Words alibi, apologia, apology, defense, excuse, justification, vindication; appeal, plea; guise, pretense (or pretence), pretext, rationalization

3 an exchange of views for the purpose of exploring a subject or deciding an issue <the president of the Senate has allotted a week for the argument of the treaty> Synonyms discussion, argumentation, argy-bargy [chiefly British], back-and-forth, colloquy, confab, confabulation, conference, consult, consultation, council, counsel, debate, deliberation, dialogue (also dialog), give-and-take, palaver, parley, talkRelated Words bull session, chat room, forum, meeting, powwow, roundtable, seminar, skull session (also skull practice), symposium, talkathon; chat, conversation, rap, words; discourse, disquisition; bargaining, consultancy, negotiation, pourparler

4 an idea or opinion that is put forth in a discussion or debate <it's my argument that we have too many problems here on earth to concern ourselves with manned trips to Mars> Synonyms contention, assertion, thesisRelated Words conjecture, guess, hunch, hypothesis, speculation, surmise, theory; proposal, proposition; assumption, presupposition, supposition; position, stand; case, explanation, rationale, reason