Define dispute | Dictionary and Thesaurus

dispute

1 a disagreement or argument about something important; "he had a dispute with his wife"; "there were irreconcilable differences"; "the familiar conflict between Republicans and Democrats" [syn: difference, difference of opinion, conflict]

2 coming into conflict with [syn: contravention]

1 take exception to; "She challenged his claims" [syn: challenge, gainsay]

2 have a disagreement over something; "We quarreled over the question as to who discovered America"; "These tewo fellows are always scrapping over something" [syn: quarrel, scrap, argufy, altercate]

English

Pronunciation

/dɪsˈpjuːt/, /dIs"pju:t/

Rhymes: -uːt

Etymology

From desputer (French: dispute).

Noun

an argument or disagreement, a failure to agree

Translations

Verb

To contend in argument; to argue against something maintained, upheld, or claimed, by another; to discuss; to reason; to debate; to altercate; to wrangle.
To make a subject of disputation; to argue pro and con; to discuss.
To oppose by argument or assertion; to attempt to overthrow; to controvert; to express dissent or opposition to; to call in question; to deny the truth or validity of; as, to dispute assertions or arguments.
To strive or contend about; to contest.
To struggle against; to resist.
Verbal controversy; contest by opposing argument or expression of opposing views or claims; controversial discussion; altercation; debate.
Contest; struggle; quarrel.

Translations

Finnish: riidellä (1,7), kinata (1,6,7), väitellä (1,6,7), kiistellä (1,6,7)

French

Etymology

From disputare

Pronunciation

Noun

fr-noun f

dispute

Related terms

disputer

Italian

Noun

dispute

Plural of disputa

A controversy or dispute occurs when parties actively disagree, argue about, or debate, a matter of opinion. Controversies can range in size from private disputes between two individuals to large-scale disagreements between societies.

Perennial areas of controversy include religion, philosophy and politics. Controversy in matters of theology has traditionally been particularly heated, giving rise to the phrase odium theologicum. Controversial issues are held as potentially divisive in a given society, because they can lead to tension and ill will. Some controversies are considered taboo to many people, unless a society can find a common ground to share and discuss its people's feelings on a certain controversial issue.

Benford's law of controversy, as expressed by science-fiction author Gregory Benford in 1980, states "Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available."

In law

In the theory of law, a controversy differs from a legal case; while the latter includes all suits, criminal as well as civil, a controversy is a purely civil proceeding.

For example, the Case or Controversy Clause of Article Three of the United States Constitution (Section 2, Clause 1) states that "the judicial Power shall extend ... to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party". This clause has been deemed to impose a requirement that United States federal courts are not permitted to hear cases that do not pose an actual controversy—that is, an actual dispute between adverse parties which is capable of being resolved by the court. In addition to setting out the scope of the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, it also prohibits courts from issuing advisory opinions, or from hearing cases that are either unripe, meaning that the controversy has not arisen yet, or moot, meaning that the controversy has already been resolved.

Amount in controversy is a term in United States civil procedure to denote a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the case.

In early Christianity

Many of the early Christian writers, among them Irenaeus, Athanasius, and Jerome, were famed as "controversialists"; they wrote works against perceived heresy or heretical individuals, works whose titles begin "Adversus..." such as Irenaeus' Adversus haereses. The Christian writers inherited from the classical rhetors the conviction that controversial confrontations, even over trivial matters, were a demonstration of intellectual superiority. See Christian theological controversy.

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AskDefine | Define dispute

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Noun

Verb

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English

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Verb

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French

Etymology

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Noun

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Italian

Noun

Extensive Definition

In law

In early Christianity

See also

Social/political controversy

Social/political controversy: local US interest

Social/political controversy: other recent

Secular controversy: intellectual and historical

Christian controversy

Other controversy

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words