Synonyms of debating

debating

verb

present participle of debate

1

as in pondering

to give serious and careful thought to

still debating what to do

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pondering
• contemplating
• considering
• studying
• questioning
• entertaining
• weighing
• exploring
• reviewing
• eyeing
• analyzing
• deliberating
• ruminating
• cogitating
• thinking (about or over)
• looking at
• meditating
• revolving
• mulling (over)
• wrestling (with)
• chewing on
• turning
• poring (over)
• digesting
• chewing over
• perpending
• reasoning
• kicking around
• reminiscing
• reflecting (on or upon)
• beating one's brains out (about)
• believing
• concluding
• opining
• cudgeling one's brains (about)
• musing (upon)
• speculating (about)
• dwelling (on or upon)
• second-guessing
• absorbing
• fixating (on or upon)
• conceiving
• obsessing (about or over)
• brooding (about or over)
• fretting (about or over)
• assimilating
• drinking (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• disregarding
• overlooking
• dismissing
• rejecting
• slighting
• pooh-poohing

2

as in discussing

to talk about (an issue) usually from various points of view and for the purpose of arriving at a decision or opinion

we debated the advantages versus the disadvantages of the proposed waterfront development

Synonyms & Similar Words

• discussing
• arguing
• reviewing
• disputing
• canvassing
• agitating
• talking over
• bandying
• considering
• raising
• batting (around or back and forth)
• mooting
• speaking (about)
• talking (about)
• hashing (over or out)
• introducing
• weighing
• deliberating
• propounding
• stirring up
• broaching
• forging
• wrestling (with)
• talking out
• hammering out
• thrashing (out)
• chewing over

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of debating

Kirk, 31, had been debating students in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings and with several thousand people in attendance. — CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026

Consider ongoing litigation between state governments and prediction-market companies, where the two sides are debating whether states are preempted from enforcing their gambling laws by a federal law on prediction markets. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2026

The same group of women tasked with debating presidential elections and Supreme Court decisions can, minutes later, be interviewing an Oscar winner, weighing in on a celebrity breakup or swapping stories about their own families. — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

Both the United States and China are feverishly debating the correct balance of AI regulation and technological advancement, and each side has distinct advantages in the race. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026

Still, slotting Correa at the keystone is among myriad possibilities the Astros are debating. — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space in 2012, although scientists are still debating about exactly where that boundary lies. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026

Schrader approaches some pretty tetchy, third-rail territory, doing some debating about whether one act of child abuse means that John is, inherently, a child abuser by nature. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026

As the sports talk shows and social media users continue debating whether Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ best days on an NFL field are behind him, one thing remains clear. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026