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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
An Alford plea allows defendants in criminal court cases to maintain their innocence in relation to an alleged crime, while simultaneously agreeing to plead guilty, according to the United States Department of Justice.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Montoya and two other defendants charged in the case are not part of the agreement and are scheduled to proceed toward a September trial.—
Theresa Clift,
Sacbee.com,
22 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
-
Hurd said the verdict bodes well for other plaintiffs, noting that Uber, not the plaintiffs, selected the North Carolina case as a test case for the broader group of pending lawsuits.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Also, in their filing, plaintiffs are asking a judge to rule that ‘third-party brand sponsors’ are not associated with the school, so their deals with players would not need to be approved by the College Sports Commission.—
Trey Wallace OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Tokyo is also developing a next-generation fighter jet with Britain and Italy for deployment in the mid-2030s, part of a strategy to share development costs and gain access to new technology.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Northrop Grumman’s shares F/A-XX design clues The F/A-XX program calls for a sixth-generation fighter to succeed the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and complement the F-35C Lightning II.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
While Survivor has plenty of surprising rules for contestants, socks are a small creature comfort that’s allowed.—
Brittany Anas,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The nine contestants competing for a chance to win season 29 of The Voice include Team Legend's Willis, Millevoi and West; Team Adam's Alexia Jayy, Jared Shoemaker and Jeremy Keith; and Team Kelly's JW Griffin, Liv Ciara and Mikenley Brown.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Community leaders, business owners and advocates met in Denver over the weekend looking for solutions to rising costs, workforce shortages, and immigration challenges.—
Jasmine Arenas,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Vaqueiro, 38, has become the fresh face of Spanish-language news after Jorge Ramos, who achieved prominence as a forceful advocate for Latino immigrants during his 40 years on the air, signed off from rival Univision in late 2024.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
11 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 23 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
