Synonyms for debate
dɪˈbeɪtde·bate

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. debate

   An individual considers, meditates, ponders, reflects, by himself; he weighs a matter in his own mind, and is sometimes said even to debate with himself. Consult and confer always imply two or more persons, as does debate, unless expressly limited as above. Confer suggests the interchange of counsel, advice, or information; consult indicates almost exclusively the receiving of it. A man confers with his associates about a new investment; he consults his physician about his health; he may confer with him on matters of general interest. He consults a dictionary, but does not confer with it. Deliberate, which can be applied to a single individual, is also the word for a great number, while consult is ordinarily limited to a few; a committee consults; an assembly deliberates. Deliberating always carries the idea of slowness; consulting is compatible with haste; we can speak of a hasty consultation, not of a hasty deliberation. Debate implies opposing views; deliberate, simply a gathering and balancing of all facts and reasons. We consider or deliberate with a view to action, while meditation may be quite purposeless.

   Synonyms:
   confer, consider, consult, deliberate, meditate, ponder, reflect, weigh

   Preposition:
   We deliberate on or upon, also about or concerning a matter: the first two are preferable.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 4 votes

1. debate

   Synonyms:
   contend, dispute, argue, moot, controvert, contest, wrangle, discuss, deliberate, question, ventilate

   Antonyms:
   yield, concede, surrender, admit, allow

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.9 / 10 votes

1. argument, argumentation, debatenoun

   a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal

   "the argument over foreign aid goes on and on"

   Synonyms:
   disceptation, logical argument, argumentation, contention, argument, tilt, controversy, disputation, line, contestation, arguing, statement, literary argument, line of reasoning, public debate, parameter

2. debate, disputation, public debateverb

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

   Synonyms:
   contestation, controversy, public debate, disceptation, disputation, tilt, contention, argument, arguing, argumentation

3. debateverb

   argue with one another

   "We debated the question of abortion"; "John debated Mary"

   Synonyms:
   deliberate, consider, moot, fence, argue, contend, turn over

4. consider, debate, moot, turn over, deliberateverb

   think about carefully; weigh

   "They considered the possibility of a strike"; "Turn the proposal over in your mind"

   Synonyms:
   turn, reckon, dig, flip, pass on, weigh, view, fence, reach, take, roll, study, see, deal, tump over, moot, think, contend, conceive, give, deliberate, overturn, bowl over, delve, pass, tip over, count, upset, believe, flip over, turn over, regard, argue, consider, knock over, look at, hand, cut into

5. debate, deliberateverb

   discuss the pros and cons of an issue

   Synonyms:
   consider, fence, moot, argue, turn over, deliberate, contend

6. argue, contend, debate, fenceverb

   have an argument about something

   Synonyms:
   fence, fight, palisade, make do, indicate, consider, turn over, vie, deliberate, deal, postulate, manage, compete, struggle, argue, wall, repugn, grapple, reason, surround, contend, cope, make out, moot, fence in, get by, contest

Matched Categories

1. • Deliberate
   • Discuss
   • Discussion

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. debatenoun

   Synonyms:
   disputation, controversy

2. debatenoun

   Synonyms:
   altercation, contest, contention, dispute, logomachy, strife of words, war of words

3. debateverb

   Synonyms:
   discuss, argue, dispute, contest, canvass

4. debateverb

   Synonyms:
   argue, dispute, deliberate, hold an argument

5. debateverb

   Synonyms:
   (Rare.) fight, contend, struggle

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. debatenoun

   Synonyms:
   discussion, argument, moot, dispute, controversy, disputation, forensic

2. debateverb

   Synonyms:
   argue, discuss, moot, contend, controvert

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "debate":

   discussion, segment, discuss, debates, discussions, debated, debating, vita, controversy, débat, dialogue, discourse, life, discussed, argument

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How to use debate in a sentence?

1. Britney Yanick:

   We heard John Fetterman won't debate Oz in the 'first week of September.' OK, so when will he debate? He won't ever say – not even in his latest whiny statement, john Fetterman's campaign is insulting the intelligence of Pennsylvania voters.

2. Josh Alcorn:

   He may not have the financial resources, but there is a ground swell of support, i think having the vice president on that debate stage is an important part of the campaign.

3. Steve Simoni:

   I don’t know if we need to tax companies for it, but I think it’s an important debate.

4. Luke Hildyard:

   We hope that it will initiate a more informed debate about what represents fair, proportionate pay for workers at all levels.

5. William Ruddiman:

   After 12 years of debate about whether the climate of the last several thousand years has been entirely natural or in considerable part the result of early agriculture, converging evidence from several scientific disciplines points to a major anthropogenic influence.