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

The question the hosts were debating, by pointing to a specific subset of one immigrant group, was precisely how incompatible Indian Americans were with American culture, and by what degree Indian immigration should be discouraged. — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026

Innovation requires creative friction—people disagreeing, debating, and pushing boundaries. — Stephanie Kramer, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

The data from late 2025 and early 2026 points to a market that is no longer debating whether AI belongs in retail, but who gets to set the terms. — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026

Teams can spend less time debating recurring details and more time on problems that are actually new. — Goran Paun, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Kedia wasn’t surprised by the unanimous interest rate decision because the FOMC had been debating higher interest rates for months. — Taylor Millard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026

While the two candidates were technically debating each other, the most prominent name onstage wasn’t there and isn’t on the ballot. — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026

Federal officials should be using their platforms to prevent the next case and not debating the numbers. — Deb Houry, Time, 30 Sep. 2026

More colleges schools are reinstating testing requirements, and UC is debating whether to resume the tests. — Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026