argumentative

adjective

ar·​gu·​men·​ta·​tive ˌär-gyə-ˈmen-tə-tiv 

variants or less commonly argumentive

ˌär-gyə-ˈmen-tiv 

1

: given to argument : tending to argue : having or showing a tendency to disagree or argue with other people in an angry way : disputatious

He became argumentative when confronted with the allegation.

an argumentative temperament

… had been a pigheaded, argumentative, irascible, and unlikable man …

—Colleen McCullough

2

: consisting of or characterized by argument

argumentative discourse

aired their opinions in an argumentative way

argumentatively adverb

Synonyms

• controversial
• contentious
• aggressive
• polemic
• polemical
• stubborn

Examples of argumentative in a Sentence

He became more argumentative during the debate.

he's too argumentative to be part of a project in which teamwork is critical

Recent Examples on the Web

The staff argues with you The customer might not always be right, but experts say an argumentative staff member could be a sign of poor service standards and a breakdown among the team. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2025

According to Fort Worth police, Rodriguez, 53, was assaulted by an argumentative young patron in his restaurant, 4400 Benbrook Highway. —Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 July 2025

The false report came after an argumentative text message exchange between Alford and the woman that was sent while Alford was drinking, Ermine wrote. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 9 May 2025

Totting up working hours places us on Musk’s argumentative terrain. —Charlie Tyson, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see argue

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for argumentative

• representative
• augmentative
• fermentative
• presentative
• preventative
• tentative
• unrepresentative

Kids Definition

argumentative

adjective

ar·​gu·​men·​ta·​tive ˌär-gyə-ˈment-ət-iv 

: marked by or given to argument : quarrelsome

argumentatively adverb