1
as in disputes
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
the seemingly imperishable controversy over the teaching of evolution
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in disputations
variance of opinion on a matter
there is considerable controversy regarding the assassination of President Kennedy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of controversies
Has this reignited the controversies surrounding you and your translation?
—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
23 June 2026
Around the same time, Hogshead began a letter writing campaign aimed at drawing broader attention to Butler’s controversies and urging other volleyball organizations and teams to disassociate themselves from him.
—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
22 June 2026
Pryor’s perspective is highly relevant to colleges and universities, where controversies involving racist language are frequently framed as questions of free speech.
—
Marybeth Gasman,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
Videos of incidents this graduation season were widely shared on social media, turning the graduation controversies into national news.
—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
21 June 2026
For instance, one of the biggest environmental controversies in recent years involved the Central Florida Expressway Authority’s decision to run a toll road through Split Oak Forest, an environmental preserve county leaders vowed decades ago to protect forever.
—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 June 2026
While the archival records are managed by the National Archives and Records Administration, the museum exhibits are funded by private donors, who may prefer to highlight positive moments and downplay controversies.
—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Prasad was pushed out of FDA at the end of April amid a string of decried decisions and controversies.
—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
18 June 2026
But many other controversies did.
—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
16 June 2026
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
23 June 2026
Around the same time, Hogshead began a letter writing campaign aimed at drawing broader attention to Butler’s controversies and urging other volleyball organizations and teams to disassociate themselves from him.
—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
22 June 2026
Pryor’s perspective is highly relevant to colleges and universities, where controversies involving racist language are frequently framed as questions of free speech.
—
Marybeth Gasman,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
Videos of incidents this graduation season were widely shared on social media, turning the graduation controversies into national news.
—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
21 June 2026
For instance, one of the biggest environmental controversies in recent years involved the Central Florida Expressway Authority’s decision to run a toll road through Split Oak Forest, an environmental preserve county leaders vowed decades ago to protect forever.
—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 June 2026
While the archival records are managed by the National Archives and Records Administration, the museum exhibits are funded by private donors, who may prefer to highlight positive moments and downplay controversies.
—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Prasad was pushed out of FDA at the end of April amid a string of decried decisions and controversies.
—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
18 June 2026
But many other controversies did.
—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for controversies
Noun
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Showdowns over international inspectors caused years of disputes between the US and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and more recently Iran.
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Council members ultimately said the purpose of the sister city program was to build relationships between communities, not to settle international political disputes.
Noun
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According to him, advances in machine learning have yanked questions once trapped inside theological/philosophical disputations into corporate board packs.
Noun
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For Ossoff, the battleground appears to extend beyond policy disagreements and partisan loyalties.
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Tell me about those disagreements and whether the G7 was able to come to any resolution here.
Noun
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The measure received bipartisan support from legislators and was approved with little discussion Thursday, unlike the housing bond and ‘rainy day fund’ debates.
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But the conversations and debates happening — whether within families, in clinics, or on public platforms — should be based on facts, not judgment.
Noun
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Rounding out the top five names were seven write-in votes for the Sacramento Capitals or Capitols — which could be nicknamed the Caps to avoid quarrels over the spelling — and six votes for the Sacramento Stingers or Sting, referencing the collegiate Sacramento State Hornets.
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In a 2024 study, researchers found that chimpanzee mothers tended to step in to defend their children in quarrels—say, over food or space in a tree—in about half of cases the researchers observed in the wild.
Noun
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Between the two cities, the similarities and differences in the origins of those communities make Melbourne’s culinary fabric both innately familiar to Angelenos, and also something wholly distinct to experience.
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Notably, these differences in cancer mortality between rural and urban counties were originally small and only began to increase when overall national cancer rates began to drop.
Noun
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During his time with the Pistons, he was known for getting into altercations with opposing players, most recently in February 2026, when he was suspended for seven games following a fight with the Charlotte Hornets.
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Court documents describe multiple violent altercations between Spencer and his wife leading up to the murder and one arrest after Spencer hit his wife and threatened to kill her.
Noun
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Attorneys posed dueling accounts of Payton and Martin’s roles in the deadly 2022 K Street shootings as closing arguments resumed Wednesday in the pair’s murder trial in Sacramento Superior Court.
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Even during the high court arguments in April, advocates for children worried that these impacts were being overlooked.
Cite this Entry
“Controversies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/controversies. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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