as in disputant
a person who takes part in a dispute
the debater was unable to come up with a convincing rebuttal for his opponent's argument
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Recent Examples of debater
High school debaters are much more polite and reasonable, even compared to presidential candidates, the group’s president, Walt Breitinger, observed.
—
Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
Judging simply by the crowd’s response, the debaters arguing that CSOs remain relevant won handily.
—Justin Worland, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Dylan Black, a SDA freshman who took the pilot course this year, said the class allowed students to learn more about each other and also become better debaters and thinkers.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
The fraud debaters offer many preferred litmus tests.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 14 Dec. 2025
The college boys would gather around a charpoy set in front of the food stall, playing for cups of tea or plates of biscuits, contemplating the next move with the seriousness of parliamentary debaters, discussing strategy.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025
Curtis and Kirk were indeed to be found on opposite ends of virtually every hot-button cultural issue on which the latter made his name as a debater and provocateur.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Her debaters warned of a slippery slope.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Kirk became known as a fierce ― and controversial ― debater.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
Judging simply by the crowd’s response, the debaters arguing that CSOs remain relevant won handily.
—Justin Worland, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Dylan Black, a SDA freshman who took the pilot course this year, said the class allowed students to learn more about each other and also become better debaters and thinkers.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
The fraud debaters offer many preferred litmus tests.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 14 Dec. 2025
The college boys would gather around a charpoy set in front of the food stall, playing for cups of tea or plates of biscuits, contemplating the next move with the seriousness of parliamentary debaters, discussing strategy.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025
Curtis and Kirk were indeed to be found on opposite ends of virtually every hot-button cultural issue on which the latter made his name as a debater and provocateur.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Her debaters warned of a slippery slope.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Kirk became known as a fierce ― and controversial ― debater.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debater
Noun
-
The Jay Treaty asked the disputants merely to start a process leading to the appointment of arbitrators qualified to decide their disputes fairly and finally.—
Tom Bell,
Oc Register,
12 Apr. 2025
-
The audience and actor are like disputants kept in different rooms, forbidden to see each other fully.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Earlier this year, a Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge ruled that the most serious charges against four of six defendants in the shooting will be held for trial.—
Tom Ignudo,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Merriweather’s office has dismissed about 106 homicide charges since 2020 — not including charges in which a defendant died, pleaded guilty, or wasn’t mentally competent to stand trial.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Martha’s father, a law professor, had trained her to be a rational, step-by-step arguer.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
All three lawsuits allege retaliation by town officials against the plaintiffs.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Arguments surrounding coercion, particularly when an abusive partner controls a victim’s reproductive care, became a major theme for the plaintiffs’ legal case.—
Geoff Mulvihill,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Just like that, her career as a professional fighter was over.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
-
By Saturday, the Pentagon had surged more than 150 aircraft to join the effort to rescue the weapons system officer, Dude 44B, including 64 fighter jets, four bombers, 48 refuelers, 13 rescue planes and 26 intelligence and jamming aircraft, sources told CBS News.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Someone handed the contestant, now with the blindfold removed, a giant check.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The show starts with 16 single contestants, where four are coupled up, and the rest are single.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As the work stoppage dragged on, bar advocates and state legislators continued to point fingers at one another.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Health advocates and community leaders came together to create the group in response the county experiencing a nearly $50 million decrease in funding for services and its health workforce.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As a result, a production version was never made, and the prototype was, like many project cars, sent to the scrapper.—
Brett Berk,
Robb Report,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The Rangers have other outfielders in camp, including veterans Sam Haggerty, a switch-hitter who is very good from the right side against lefties, Mark Canha and fellow scrapper Michael Helman.—
Evan Grant,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debater. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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