debate

Fetched 2026-10-28 (live).

Synonyms: debase, rebate, delate, derate, sebate, decate, debat, debatte

Antonyms: debase, rebate, delate, derate, sebate, decate, debat, debatte

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Verb

1. To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
   • "Debate me, coward!" snarled the completely normal intellectual.
2. To fight.
3. To engage in combat for; to strive for.
4. To consider (to oneself), to think over, to attempt to decide
   • He was debating where he'd spend his holiday.

Noun

1. An argument, or discussion, usually in an ordered or formal setting, often with more than two people, generally ending with a vote or other decision.
   • After a four-hour debate, the committee voted to table the motion.
2. An informal and spirited but generally civil discussion of opposing views.
   • The debate over the age of the universe is thousands of years old.
   • There was a bit of a debate over who should pay for the damaged fence.
3. Discussion of opposing views.
   • There has been considerable debate concerning exactly how to format these articles.
4. A type of literary composition, taking the form of a discussion or disputation, commonly found in the vernacular medieval poetry of many European countries, as well as in medieval Latin.
5. Strife, discord.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.