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 controversial
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 contentious
relating to or causing the expression of opposing opinions
dismayed at the prospect of enduring another disputatious meeting of the school board
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disputatious
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
The 1990s were especially disputatious; civil wars arose on multiple continents, as did major wars in Europe and Africa.
—Paul Poast, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023
Mercurial, determined, needy, disputatious—the moods more so than seasons of Acker’s life were rapid, and any biography is bound to contradict and complement and hone the myths that continue to attract us to her writing and her symbol.
—Liz Sullivan, Hazlitt, 5 Dec. 2022
Today’s disputatious conservatives are leading our latest effort to conjoin individual freedom and collective purpose.
—Christopher Demuth, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022
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
The 1990s were especially disputatious; civil wars arose on multiple continents, as did major wars in Europe and Africa.
—Paul Poast, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023
Mercurial, determined, needy, disputatious—the moods more so than seasons of Acker’s life were rapid, and any biography is bound to contradict and complement and hone the myths that continue to attract us to her writing and her symbol.
—Liz Sullivan, Hazlitt, 5 Dec. 2022
Today’s disputatious conservatives are leading our latest effort to conjoin individual freedom and collective purpose.
—Christopher Demuth, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disputatious
Adjective
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The offensive line had five presnap penalties, and allowed four sacks and 11 tackles for loss to an aggressive Lobos defense.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Not only does the quarterback need to be accurate and aggressive, but the play caller needs to dial up ways to create advantageous one-on-one situations and the receivers have to win those chances.—
Derrik Klassen,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The sketch began by portraying part of Bondi’s controversial Senate hearing this week, where the United States Attorney General was grilled and cagey about topics such as the Jeffrey Epstein files.—
William Earl,
Variety,
12 Oct. 2025
-
American Eagle –– whose partner brand Aerie has been known for marketing underwear to women with imagery that celebrated stretch marks, cellulite and a range of body sizes — ran a controversial ad campaign starting in July.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Both the speed and the scale of attention directed toward the incident indicate the contentious nature of social media and online discourse in this current moment.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Bondi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for an oversight hearing that grew contentious and yielded little new information about activity at the Justice Department.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Advertisement An investigation led by the Guardian found in September that out of the 6,000 Palestinians from Gaza held by Israel since the Hamas terror attack two years ago, only one quarter were held on suspicion of militant links.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Israeli officials deny any systematic violations of international law and assert that Hamas routinely used noncombatants as human shields and smuggled humanitarian assistance, accusations denied by the militant group.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
By this time, the eastern Roman empire, where Zosimus lived, had been fairly thoroughly Christianized, but Zosimus was a pagan hostile to Christianity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The United States plans to upgrade its radars to improve their ability to identify hostile ballistic missiles targeting the homeland, according to a government announcement, as nuclear adversaries Russia, China and North Korea advance their missile capabilities.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
All arms come from coal and steel and integrated industries would stop Europe’s most quarrelsome countries waging war on one another.—
Sara Stridsberg
September 15,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
-
How did Marlowe find the space in his head, let alone in his days and nights, to compose his quarrelsome works, aiming them so squarely at the heavens and the gut?—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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However, such symptoms are hard to attribute to vaccines because infants can be irritable or fussy regardless of vaccination.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
19 Sep. 2025
-
When the caffeine wears off, children may have a headache and feel irritable or tired.—
Dr. Mark Corkins,
Boston Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These two ingredients mixed together creates a powerful mixture perfect for lifting stubborn stains off grout because of their high cleaning and brightening properties.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Scientists have discovered a cleaner, faster way to recycle one of the world’s most stubborn plastics, not with heat or chemicals, but with sheer mechanical force.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disputatious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disputatious. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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