as in disputant
a person who takes part in a dispute
the debater was unable to come up with a convincing rebuttal for his opponent's argument
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Recent Examples of debater
Porter is a talented debater but seemed overly defensive about her past hot temper.
—
George Skelton, Mercury News, 14 May 2026
High school debaters are much more polite and reasonable, even compared to presidential candidates, the group’s president, Walt Breitinger, observed.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
Judging simply by the crowd’s response, the debaters arguing that CSOs remain relevant won handily.
—Justin Worland, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Dylan Black, a SDA freshman who took the pilot course this year, said the class allowed students to learn more about each other and also become better debaters and thinkers.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
The fraud debaters offer many preferred litmus tests.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 14 Dec. 2025
The college boys would gather around a charpoy set in front of the food stall, playing for cups of tea or plates of biscuits, contemplating the next move with the seriousness of parliamentary debaters, discussing strategy.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025
Curtis and Kirk were indeed to be found on opposite ends of virtually every hot-button cultural issue on which the latter made his name as a debater and provocateur.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Her debaters warned of a slippery slope.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
George Skelton, Mercury News, 14 May 2026
High school debaters are much more polite and reasonable, even compared to presidential candidates, the group’s president, Walt Breitinger, observed.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
Judging simply by the crowd’s response, the debaters arguing that CSOs remain relevant won handily.
—Justin Worland, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Dylan Black, a SDA freshman who took the pilot course this year, said the class allowed students to learn more about each other and also become better debaters and thinkers.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2026
The fraud debaters offer many preferred litmus tests.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 14 Dec. 2025
The college boys would gather around a charpoy set in front of the food stall, playing for cups of tea or plates of biscuits, contemplating the next move with the seriousness of parliamentary debaters, discussing strategy.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025
Curtis and Kirk were indeed to be found on opposite ends of virtually every hot-button cultural issue on which the latter made his name as a debater and provocateur.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Her debaters warned of a slippery slope.
—Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debater
Noun
-
The Jay Treaty asked the disputants merely to start a process leading to the appointment of arbitrators qualified to decide their disputes fairly and finally.—
Tom Bell,
Oc Register,
12 Apr. 2025
-
The audience and actor are like disputants kept in different rooms, forbidden to see each other fully.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
That’s true even though those colleges’ membership organization, the NCAA, is the defendant and is trying to enforce rules accepted by member schools.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
20 May 2026
-
Wired ran a story about the butt pillows used by OpenAI’s phalanx of lawyers and executives, including the president and co-defendant, Greg Brockman, to insulate themselves from the discomfort of the court’s benches.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
Martha’s father, a law professor, had trained her to be a rational, step-by-step arguer.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The plaintiffs are two transgender teens and their parents, who are all identified by pseudonyms in court filings.—
Matthew Kelly
May 19,
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
-
The plaintiff’s counsel repeatedly questioned Altman’s character, accusing him of being untrustworthy, and of routinely lying.—
Ashley Capoot,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Booker’s main challenger is Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot who was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 Senate race against McConnell.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
-
This, together with a ruling by judges, means the court can look at potential war crimes carried out by Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israelis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
This year’s field of 35 contestants is the smallest since 2003.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
-
This year's field of 35 contestants is the smallest since 2003.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
The reopening will also highlight activists like Veda Ajamu, a criminal justice reform advocate and the museum’s chief engagement officer whose own story is captured in the Legacy Experience.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
16 May 2026
-
An outbreak of violence by warring gangs has led to the deaths of at least 80 people, according to human rights advocates, and forced the temporary suspension of operations at both Médecins Sans Frontières’ health facility in Cité Soleil, and Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Willis is a clear scrapper who can really move.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
As a result, a production version was never made, and the prototype was, like many project cars, sent to the scrapper.—
Brett Berk,
Robb Report,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debater. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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