Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A dispute, especially a public one, between sides holding opposing views. See Synonyms at argument.
- n. The act or practice of engaging in such disputes: writers skilled at controversy.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Disputation; debate; agitation of contrary opinions; a formal or prolonged debate; dispute.
- n. Specifically A suit in law; the contention in a civil action; a case in which opposing parties contend for their respective claims before a tribunal.
- n. A matter in dispute; a question to settle.
- n. Antagonism; resistance.
Wiktionary
- n. A debate, discussion of opposing opinions; strife.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Contention; dispute; debate; discussion; agitation of contrary opinions.
- n. Quarrel; strife; cause of variance; difference.
- n. A suit in law or equity; a question of right.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
Etymologies
- Middle English controversie, from Latin contrōversia, from contrōversus, disputed : contrō- (variant of contrā, contra-) + versus, past participle of vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“My current favorite Palin controversy is whether or not she attended the secessionist Alaska Independence Party's 1994 convention.”
“If the matter in controversy is important, so that defeat is a serious blow to the credit or the power of the litigant who is worsted, that interest becomes a”
“With just a wee bit of hubris, Devenanzio, who believes he made "Johnny Bananas" a household name, told TMZ the name controversy is "in no way coincidental and is instead an attempt to capitalize on the name recognition which I'm solely responsible for creating.”
“The owners of the Mancrunch. com site deny it was a publicity stunt, but the controversy is almost certain to direct tens of thousands of eyeballs to the ad without the company shelling out a single dollar.”
“They hold onto this obsession even to the detriment of the country, and this controversy is a clear example of that.”
“While some Democrats suggested the issues would ultimately be seen as innocent mistakes or technicalities, the controversy is a big embarrassment for a man in line to head the department with responsibility for enforcing the tax code.”
Geithner, Choice for Treasury, Questioned on His Tax Returns - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com
“But Sanders said the controversy is a misunderstanding.”
“Wow, seeing the developer here talking about the game and the controversy is a real treat.”
“Whitman told reporters after the debate the controversy is a sideshow from the issues Californians want to focus on, such as jobs and education.”
The Huffington Post: Whitman, Brown Spar Over Maid Scandal In Heated Debate
“At the heart of the controversy is a 2003 document from the Social Security Administration alerting the Whitman household to discrepancies with the maid's Social Security number, saying it did not match the name on file.”
The Huffington Post: Meg Whitman Housekeeper Scandal Shakes Up Governor's Race
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘controversy’.
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Academic Vocabulary
Use these and get promoted
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