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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of debater
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
Kirk became known as a fierce ― and controversial ― debater.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 14 Sep. 2025
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
Kirk became known as a fierce ― and controversial ― debater.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 14 Sep. 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
-
In addition, motions in which the prosecution opposed mental health diversions for two defendants contained similar errors, Stuart wrote.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Another former guard charged with murder, Caleb Blair, is scheduled to go on trial May 4, along with a fellow defendant will stand trial for first-degree manslaughter.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 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 claim the prices of Fanatics’ two cards have increased by 49% and 31%, while the prices of Panini’s two cards have increased by 24% and decreased by 14%, respectively.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The court sided with the plaintiff, ruling that the ranching company had no right to create barriers to those roads.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Nearby are paintings of animal-human hybrids by the Danish artist Ovartaci and a 2022 video environment by Christopher Kulendran Thomas, which includes what appears to be footage of Tamil independence fighters and a deepfake of Kim Kardashian.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Other Colorado fighters Where other UFC fighters from The Centennial State currently stand in their respective weight classes.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Someone handed the contestant, now with the blindfold removed, a giant check.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The show starts with 16 single contestants, where four are coupled up, and the rest are single.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As the work stoppage dragged on, bar advocates and state legislators continued to point fingers at one another.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Health advocates and community leaders came together to create the group in response the county experiencing a nearly $50 million decrease in funding for services and its health workforce.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
The Rangers have other outfielders in camp, including veterans Sam Haggerty, a switch-hitter who is very good from the right side against lefties, Mark Canha and fellow scrapper Michael Helman.—
Evan Grant,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debater.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debater. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
