as in defendant
a person who takes part in a dispute
there were only three disputants in the argument, but they made enough noise for a dozen
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Recent Examples of disputant
The Jay Treaty asked the disputants merely to start a process leading to the appointment of arbitrators qualified to decide their disputes fairly and finally.
—
Tom Bell, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2025
The audience and actor are like disputants kept in different rooms, forbidden to see each other fully.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
However, if the harassment or dispute is simply two neighbors being un-neighborly toward each other, the HOA’s best response may be to offer a volunteer board member to meet with the disputants to try to host a discussion between them.
—Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
My disputant’s particular problem wasn’t with Carpenter’s voice but with its anodyne middle-of-the-road context (both musically and culturally).
—Wesley Stace, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2018
The debate over medicine today is like that baby, but with disputants who won’t fall for Solomon’s trick.
—Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, National Review, 24 Oct. 2017
One way for other financial centres, such as Dubai and Singapore, to compete is by becoming hubs for arbitration—by agreeing to abide by the decision of a tribunal, disputants can bypass courts entirely.
—The Economist, 31 Aug. 2017
Tom Bell, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2025
The audience and actor are like disputants kept in different rooms, forbidden to see each other fully.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
However, if the harassment or dispute is simply two neighbors being un-neighborly toward each other, the HOA’s best response may be to offer a volunteer board member to meet with the disputants to try to host a discussion between them.
—Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
My disputant’s particular problem wasn’t with Carpenter’s voice but with its anodyne middle-of-the-road context (both musically and culturally).
—Wesley Stace, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2018
The debate over medicine today is like that baby, but with disputants who won’t fall for Solomon’s trick.
—Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, National Review, 24 Oct. 2017
One way for other financial centres, such as Dubai and Singapore, to compete is by becoming hubs for arbitration—by agreeing to abide by the decision of a tribunal, disputants can bypass courts entirely.
—The Economist, 31 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disputant
Noun
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All defendants maintained their innocence and appealed after a two-year trial that opened a Pandora's box of unwanted revelations about papal ransom payments to Islamic militants, Vatican vendettas, espionage and other dirty laundry of the Holy See.—
NICOLE WINFIELD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
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That’s not unusual for drug court, which focuses more on finding treatment and services for defendants rather than punishment and prison time.—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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For example, the plaintiffs amended the lawsuit to stop the scaling back of the nation's childhood vaccination schedule.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Mar. 2026
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In addition to extending the deadline, Hancock must give plaintiff schools access to submit TEFA applications, per the Tuesday court order.—
Jessica Ma,
Dallas Morning News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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High school debaters are much more polite and reasonable, even compared to presidential candidates, the group’s president, Walt Breitinger, observed.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Judging simply by the crowd’s response, the debaters arguing that CSOs remain relevant won handily.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Boko Haram has since become stronger, with thousands of fighters and different factions, including the Islamic State West Africa Province, which is backed by the Islamic State group.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Jamie Foxx leads the film, based on the true story of the devastating 1980 plane crash which claimed the lives of America’s Olympic boxing team, leading a determined coach to take on the monumental task of assembling and training new fighters for glory at the 1984 games.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Maybe the closest thing the movie has to a thesis comes when one of the contestants flies a drone to the sisters and tries to offer a compromise via a loophole in the rules that could spare all of them, if Grace is willing to make a repugnant sacrifice.—
Jada Yuan,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
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After all, one of the show's guiltiest pleasures is searching each contestant's face during the reveal to suss out their true feelings.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Rae Huang, a pastor and housing advocate, will also appear on the ballot.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
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McGiffert, the patient safety advocate, urged consumers to check multiple sources when evaluating a hospital or other health system.—
Ken Alltucker,
USA Today,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disputant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disputant. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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