1
as in controversy
variance of opinion on a matter
a dispute over the proper pronunciation of "nuclear"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in quarrel
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
after much dispute, the school committee decided that all backpacks would have to be stored in lockers during class hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to question
to demand proof of the truth or rightness of
a whole slew of relatives eager to dispute his claim to being the sole heir
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to bicker
to express different opinions about something often angrily
hometown fans disputing with visiting fans over which had the better team
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to debate
to talk about (an issue) usually from various points of view and for the purpose of arriving at a decision or opinion
in an extended session the city council disputed the need for a new high school
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dispute
Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
His lawsuit and two others were combined and over several years the dispute wound up with the settlement that ends a decades-old prohibition on schools cutting checks directly to athletes.
—Eddie Pells, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 June 2025
Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 16 June 2025
Padilla, in an interview with NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff, disputed her account.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dispute
Noun
In a Tribune interview last week, Harmon defended his eleventh-hour attempt to change state law with a clause that could have eliminated his elections board dispute and potential fine.
—Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
His lawsuit and two others were combined and over several years the dispute wound up with the settlement that ends a decades-old prohibition on schools cutting checks directly to athletes.
—Eddie Pells, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 June 2025
Verb
Marlena disputed the caseworkers’ list of failures.
—Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 16 June 2025
Padilla, in an interview with NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff, disputed her account.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dispute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispute
Noun
-
The changes come amid several controversies facing the Texas Lottery in recent years, particularly on the issue of courier purchases.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
25 June 2025
-
The original, shot by Bryce Anderson, drew a lot of attention and controversy, with many critiquing the image as a provocative and degrading towards women.—
Thania Garcia,
Variety,
25 June 2025
Noun
-
Victor Bautista got into an argument with his killer in front of NYCHA’s Moore Houses, across the street from troubled St. Mary’s Park, in Mott Haven about 7:45 a.m. As the quarrel escalated, the gunman shot Bautista in the chest near Trinity Ave.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
17 June 2025
-
The canvas brims with characters who casually kill but also love, laugh, quarrel.—
Anupama Chopra,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2025
Verb
-
But an analysis of new data from Hubble and the European Space Agency’s Gaia Space Telescope has caused researchers to question that time frame.—
Avery Hurt,
Discover Magazine,
21 June 2025
-
Skeptics will point to his physical issues and question his fit outside the Warriors’ unique system.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Verb
-
In 2012, surviving members of the Beach Boys reunited for a 50th anniversary album, which quickly hit the Top 10 before the group again bickered and separated.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 June 2025
-
Vance memes, framing the vice president as the troubled child of bickering parents.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
Verb
-
While the concept of vibe coding remains ill-defined, and its merits are hotly debated within the enterprise software community, there is a broad consensus around the underlying goal of making AI agents easier to code and deploy.—
Maribel Lopez,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
-
However, whether this move will have a positive financial impact for the government has been debated by experts.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
Jake is a single father who has brought Kristen up in the severe Calvinist tradition, marked by Bible disputations of Talmudic intricacy and by a radical detachment from secular and popular culture.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2023
-
Seven decades later, this culture of disputation emerged as a central theme in Timothy Garton Ash’s The Magic Lantern, his eyewitness report on the Eastern European revolutions of 1989.—
Susie Linfield,
The New York Review of Books,
11 May 2022
Noun
-
Santana said the altercation took place somewhere around the seventh inning.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
-
Santana declined to discuss specifics of what prompted the altercation.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
20 June 2025
Verb
-
Telling their kids to take a course load that was too rigorous Students should absolutely challenge themselves.—
Theo Wolf,
CNBC,
25 June 2025
-
Howl’s top revenue drivers challenge conventional wisdom about what sells in the creator economy.—
Yola Robert,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dispute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispute. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share