1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a long history of little wars waged by the disputatious countries occupying that European peninsula
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in contentious
given to arguing
a disputatious professor who could give you an argument on just about anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in controversial
relating to or causing the expression of opposing opinions
dismayed at the prospect of enduring another disputatious meeting of the school board
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disputatious
Its titular Pebble and Clod might remind you of characters in a picture book or a TV show — disputatious friends like Frog and Toad or Ernie and Bert.
—
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
What could unite this bustling, disputatious new country?
—
John Swansburg,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
In other words, students prepare for citizenship in a disputatious society by practicing the civic arts—by asserting and advocating for their views—not by meekly absorbing lessons from their instructors.
—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
The potential for sharp, disputatious cultural criticism has arguably slackened.
—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
2 Sep. 2025
The film shows the occasionally disputatious relationship between Marvin and her grandparents, who raised her.
—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
12 Jan. 2025
Hoback followed Back to a Bitcoin conference in Riga, Latvia, where Back introduced him to one of his younger protégés, a prominent if disputatious Bitcoin developer named Peter Todd.
—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
The New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2024
This disputatious sociopolitical drama is cunningly packaged as a romantic comedy.
—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2024
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
What could unite this bustling, disputatious new country?
—
John Swansburg,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
In other words, students prepare for citizenship in a disputatious society by practicing the civic arts—by asserting and advocating for their views—not by meekly absorbing lessons from their instructors.
—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
The potential for sharp, disputatious cultural criticism has arguably slackened.
—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
2 Sep. 2025
The film shows the occasionally disputatious relationship between Marvin and her grandparents, who raised her.
—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
12 Jan. 2025
Hoback followed Back to a Bitcoin conference in Riga, Latvia, where Back introduced him to one of his younger protégés, a prominent if disputatious Bitcoin developer named Peter Todd.
—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
The New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2024
This disputatious sociopolitical drama is cunningly packaged as a romantic comedy.
—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disputatious
Adjective
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The goal is gentle smoke and indirect heat rather than aggressive flames.
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Right now, the multi-trillion-dollar global apparel industry is undergoing an aggressive technological shift, adopting artificial intelligence as a production standard rather than an experimental pilot.
Adjective
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These groups tackle politically contentious issues like immigration, human rights, and the environment.
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However, the bill was so contentious that in order to squeak it through, legislators stuffed it full of carve-outs and exemptions, allowing cities to delay implementation by passing their own plans to add density.
Adjective
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In a controversial move, the Department of Education last year decided that certain healthcare studies – such as nursing, physician assistants and physical therapy – were not considered professional programs.
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One of the most controversial things to happen in sports over the last five to seven years or so is the introduction of jersey ads.
Adjective
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Yet Piker himself has followed the DSA’s militant line, repeatedly praising authoritarian regimes such as China’s, Cuba’s, and Russia’s, as well as terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
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There are also concerns that fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon could escalate once more and derail future talks.
Adjective
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Now, in the 1500s and 1600s, that phrase was often used by Catholics in their polemical war against Protestants.
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Tarring someone with the pedant brush is polemical, of course.
Adjective
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And until a Black commentator is held responsible for making openly hostile remarks about White people, nothing will change.
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For example, in March, the crypto exchange Kraken put its multibillion‑dollar IPO on hold amid hostile market conditions, according to CoinDesk.
Adjective
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The toys, like the perpetually quarrelsome Woody and Buzz or Jessie the cowgirl, who now takes center stage, have seen their boy and girl owners grow up and leave them behind.
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Both Trotsky and Paul get absorbed in quarrelsome dialectics and in point-scoring built around minute differences.
Adjective
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The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
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Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
Cite this Entry
“Disputatious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disputatious. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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