as in argued
to express different opinions about something often angrily
ever since the poem was first published, critics and scholars have controverted over the meaning of its concluding lines
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for controverted
Verb
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But the department has argued the sheer volume of documents that need to be found, uploaded, reviewed, redacted and published has forced it to instead release the files online on a rolling basis, with a series of enormous document dumps over the course of several days in mid-December.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026 -
Skelton argued that the city’s code lays out a specific process for declaring an animal as dangerous, which often entails a day in municipal court.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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On 33 occasions since 2017, Congress has been forced to pass emergency extensions to the flood insurance program, as lawmakers bickered over budgets and looming shutdowns threatened to disrupt it, according to a letter the National Association of Realtors sent to Congress ahead of the shutdown.—
Rukmini Callimachi,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
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In recent years, the companies have bickered about the rise of streaming services, in which the media companies are investing billions of dollars and which lure away cable and satellite customers.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For the past seven months, SDC has quarreled with state officials and lawmakers over its community action agency title.—
Gina Lee Castro,
jsonline.com,
26 Nov. 2025
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Rhoden's biggest political victory this year was getting the state Legislature to sign off on a $650 million plan in September to replace the 141-year-old state penitentiary, an issue the Legislature had quarreled over for years.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Walz and other state officials have disputed that estimate.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
6 Jan. 2026
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The utility disputed that claim, saying the outage was an internal problem at the jail.—
Nandika Chatterjee,
Time,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Players fought, fought, fought, gave us every chance in the world.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
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Germany and France fought centuries of bloody wars before becoming the bedrock of the European Union.—
Jon Medved,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Controverted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/controverted. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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