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