1
as in controversial
given to arguing
he's too argumentative to be part of a project in which teamwork is critical
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
an argumentative gang of bullies always looking for a fight
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in contentious
relating to or causing the expression of opposing opinions
a topic that sparked more than a few argumentative conversations around the watercooler
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of argumentative
While the folksy, friendly Readers’ Digest-style publications have faded, some thoughtful if politically argumentative ones still thrive – The Atlantic and The Economist, for example.
—
Peter Bart, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
In 2020, a longtime bus driver was shot and killed by an argumentative passenger.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 2 Dec. 2024
Sometimes, defiant and argumentative behavior results when a child attempts to assert control.
—Amy Morin, Parents, 24 July 2024
John Gottman and his wife Julie Schwartz Gottman have seen their fair share of argumentative blunders in their decades of research on couples.
—Allie Volpe, Vox, 12 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for argumentative
Peter Bart, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025
In 2020, a longtime bus driver was shot and killed by an argumentative passenger.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 2 Dec. 2024
Sometimes, defiant and argumentative behavior results when a child attempts to assert control.
—Amy Morin, Parents, 24 July 2024
John Gottman and his wife Julie Schwartz Gottman have seen their fair share of argumentative blunders in their decades of research on couples.
—Allie Volpe, Vox, 12 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for argumentative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for argumentative
Adjective
-
As a public institution, UVU upholds First Amendment rights and fosters an environment where ideas – popular or controversial – can be exchanged freely, energetically, and civilly.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Despite her controversial inclusion at the event, Melnikova’s performances were met with robust cheers from the Parisian crowd.—
Caroline Price,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Now and in the future In the early days of the Bowman era, the Oilers appear to be more aggressive in looking for talent.—
Allan Mitchell,
New York Times,
14 Sep. 2025
-
First, assume that classification will be litigated if the arrangement is aggressive or if the borrower is thinly capitalized.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The contentious issue, which was regarded as a momentous turning point when it was adopted by the European Union in 2023, has been a hot topic at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich this week.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
-
One of those was his contentious divorce with his first wife Denise Richards.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Jeffrey Breinholt, an architect of the material support statutes who spent three decades as a federal terrorism prosecutor, defends the laws as crucial to closing loopholes that were exploited by foreign militant groups and their domestic sympathizers.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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Lellouche stars as unlikely hero Zem, a disillusioned Zone 3 cop with an idealistic militant past, who is teamed with haughty, high-flying Zone 2 officer Salia, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, after a leading politician is assassinated in Zone 1.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Everyone’s got a polemical opinion.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Soon, Roy broadened her political critique to include commentary on United States policy, and her polemical essays became as recognizable (and as controversial) as her fiction.—
Anderson Tepper,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Thanks to climate change, Cosmism’s ambivalent and generally hostile attitude towards the natural world should also sound familiar.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Another camera designed to withstand the hostile environment of space was used outside.—
Catherine Muccigrosso,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Viewers were quick to point out the hilarity of the dog's stubborn protest, with many suggesting that the dachshund had already claimed permanent rights to the bed.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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The stubborn myth that Jews are too safe to be targets is colliding with a painful new reality.—
Andrew Weinstein,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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He was adopted two weeks later, but after 18 months in his home, Scoob developed a painful skin condition that caused his ears to bleed and left him extremely irritable.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Instead, Helen is allowed to be irritable and anti-social, chain-smoking and snappish, without the filmmaker casting judgment.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Argumentative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/argumentative. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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