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

Murray enlists Ted in a series of mysterious experiments that involve the young man sitting in a room and debating another student. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

The conservative activist had been debating students before a crowd of thousands in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings and elevated walkways on the campus in Orem, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. — ABC News, 25 Sep. 2026

Experts are debating the existential risks of AI, but the financial risks are already here. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2026

And frankly, the best legislation comes out of very informed members of Congress debating issue sets. — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026

Lastly, there are two minor privacy updates — though neither truly addresses the fears people have been debating this past summer. — Victoria Song, The Verge, 23 Sep. 2026

In advance of that meeting, letters, pamphlets, and articles started to fly around the nation, debating the meaning of Judaism and the place of the Jews in America. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026

Investors are debating whether the $220 billion Amazon is spending this year ever earns a return. — Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 21 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