a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement; " they were involved in a violent argument"

the formal presentation of and opposition to a stated proposition ( usually followed by a vote)

The act of disputing; a reasoning or argumentation in opposition to something, or on opposite sides; controversy in words; verbal contest respecting the truth of some fact, opinion, proposition, or argument.

A rhetorical exercise in which parties reason in opposition to each other on some question proposed.

A debate; verbal controversy; an altercation.

A contest in argument: an exercise in debate.

Act of disputing; contest in argument.

The act of disputing; controversy; discussion; argumentation.

The act of disputing; a contest in argument on opposide sides of a question; an exercise in argumentation on opposite sides for the sake of practice.

A controversy; a contest in words.

The sound exercise of judgment, which is connected with this love of truth, differs therefore from the art of ingenious disputation, and is often found directly at variance with it. – The Philosophy of the Moral Feelings by John Abercrombie

So the scene was set for a pretty disputation. – The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon by José Maria Gordon

The relation of the disputation had at Sir George Trenchard's table, between Sir Walter Raleigh, Mr. Carew Raleigh, and Mr. Ironside, hereafter followeth, written by himself and delivered to the commissioners upon his oath. – Studies from Court and Cloister by J.M. Stone

And I beseech you, do not suppose that I am disputing for the sake of disputation; with that pernicious habit I was never infected, and I have seen too many mournful proofs of its perilous consequences. – Colloquies on Society by Robert Southey

He came over to arrange the final details of the disputation. – Dawn of All by Robert Hugh Benson

And Jupiter, when he perceived that even in the night- time they ceased not from trouble and disputation, and that even the courts of law remained open, resolved to appoint one of his brothers to be the overseer of the night and have authority over man's rest. – Latin Literature by J. W. Mackail

Recollecting his remarks, her mind was afflicted by the " something illogical" in him that we readily discover when our natures are no longer running free, and then at once we yearn for a disputation. – The Complete Project Gutenberg Works of George Meredith by George Meredith

But despite the modesty of his opening, Lyon was too much in earnest, too zealous, too well informed on the subject, too aggressive, and too fond of disputation to let Blair conduct the discussion on the part of his Government. – The Struggle for Missouri by John McElroy

Theological disputation and dogma do not disturb her pages. – Harriet Martineau by Florence Fenwick Miller

How all this noise, tumult, and disputation, this absence of the politeness to which I had been accustomed all my life, this vulgar jostling and brawling depressed me I need not say. – The Red Cockade by Stanley J. Weyman

Meanwhile the hall of disputation was crowded with an expectant audience. – Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Vol III. by John Symonds

Now yo' hush, Marse Dave, said Lindy, in a shrill whisper, I ain't er- gwine ter git mixed up in no disputation. – The Complete PG Edition of The Works of Winston Churchill by Winston Churchill

Lady Roseville was on the other side of my beautiful companion; and I observed that, whenever she took her eyes from Miss Glanville, they always rested upon her brother, who, in the midst of the disputation and the disputants, sat silent, gloomy, and absorbed. – Pelham, Complete by Edward Bulwer-Lytton Last Updated: March 16, 2009

His Disputation had won the approval of his father, who was even prepared to go to the expense of publishing it. – The Youth of Goethe by Peter Hume Brown

There appears to have been much disputation among critics and commentators, but no room for disputation surely would have been left concerning narratives, equally authentic and inspired, of a momentous crisis in the life of the Saviour. – The Religious Situation by Goldwin Smith

The two commissionated prophets were by no means dismayed, by no means inclined to be outdone by the Quakers; they invited them to a disputation- a trial of the spirits, in fact. – The Coming of the Friars by Augustus Jessopp

In the beginning of the year, when I came to Zurich, no one yet knew anything of Luther, except that a book was published by him on indulgences, but it taught me little, for I had already been instructed concerning the fraud of indulgences by a disputation, which my beloved teacher, Thomas Wittenbach of Biel, held at Basel, although during my absence. – The Life and Times of Ulric Zwingli by Johann Hottinger

The clock struck five; none had dined, and many had not broken their fast, which the Presidents had, and therefore had the advantage in disputation. – The Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Complete by Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz

It is not reason and disputation, saith Bernard, will comprehend these, but holiness, and that by stretching out the arms of fear and love, reverence and affection. – The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning by Hugh Binning

In addition to this council composed of the chief officers of the government, I consider it essentially requisite that a barrister should be appointed as a counsellor to the governor, at all times when his excellency is referred to in matter of doubtful disputation, which must oftentimes occur in the colony, and which frequently reduces him to an unpleasant dilemma. – The Present Picture of New South Wales (1811) by David Dickinson Mann