1
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a long history of little wars waged by the disputatious countries occupying that European peninsula
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in controversial
given to arguing
a disputatious professor who could give you an argument on just about anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in contentious
relating to or causing the expression of opposing opinions
dismayed at the prospect of enduring another disputatious meeting of the school board
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disputatious
The film shows the occasionally disputatious relationship between Marvin and her grandparents, who raised her.
—
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 12 Jan. 2025
Hoback followed Back to a Bitcoin conference in Riga, Latvia, where Back introduced him to one of his younger protégés, a prominent if disputatious Bitcoin developer named Peter Todd.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2024
This disputatious sociopolitical drama is cunningly packaged as a romantic comedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Still, even by these disputatious standards, the arguments that have been carrying on around Amherst Regional Middle School, or ARMS, have been vociferous.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
The 1990s were especially disputatious; civil wars arose on multiple continents, as did major wars in Europe and Africa.
—Paul Poast, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023
Mercurial, determined, needy, disputatious—the moods more so than seasons of Acker’s life were rapid, and any biography is bound to contradict and complement and hone the myths that continue to attract us to her writing and her symbol.
—Liz Sullivan, Hazlitt, 5 Dec. 2022
Today’s disputatious conservatives are leading our latest effort to conjoin individual freedom and collective purpose.
—Christopher Demuth, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022
Its lament resonates for art once seen as a disputatious civic forum, now overrun by the hard coin of investment markets.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2021
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 12 Jan. 2025
Hoback followed Back to a Bitcoin conference in Riga, Latvia, where Back introduced him to one of his younger protégés, a prominent if disputatious Bitcoin developer named Peter Todd.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2024
This disputatious sociopolitical drama is cunningly packaged as a romantic comedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Still, even by these disputatious standards, the arguments that have been carrying on around Amherst Regional Middle School, or ARMS, have been vociferous.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
The 1990s were especially disputatious; civil wars arose on multiple continents, as did major wars in Europe and Africa.
—Paul Poast, The Atlantic, 17 Nov. 2023
Mercurial, determined, needy, disputatious—the moods more so than seasons of Acker’s life were rapid, and any biography is bound to contradict and complement and hone the myths that continue to attract us to her writing and her symbol.
—Liz Sullivan, Hazlitt, 5 Dec. 2022
Today’s disputatious conservatives are leading our latest effort to conjoin individual freedom and collective purpose.
—Christopher Demuth, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022
Its lament resonates for art once seen as a disputatious civic forum, now overrun by the hard coin of investment markets.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disputatious
Adjective
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Addressing the Obvious Critiques Yes, 3–4% real growth is aggressive.—
Don Muir,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
-
After the aggressive animal showed no signs of leaving, the woman’s boyfriend fatally shot it, officials said.—
Paloma Chavez,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
But with the event falling on June 14, President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday—and with his name, presence, and fingerprints woven throughout—the military spectacle has become one of the most controversial and polarizing public displays in the nation’s capital in years.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
12 June 2025
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But in the 1990s, the U.S. government undertook one of the most controversial wildlife programs in history — capturing wild wolves in Canada and reintroducing them in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park.—
Clark Corbin,
Idaho Statesman,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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The contentious professional relationship between billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump has seemingly come to an end.—
Maria Gracia Santillana Linares,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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Everything's an 'emergency': How Trump's executive order record pace is testing the courts Lawmakers often shy away from piling too much into one bill because each contentious provision spurs its own opposition.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
The aid group accused Hamas of carrying out the assault; the militant group has not yet responded to the allegations.—
Jade Walker,
CNN Money,
12 June 2025
-
Some activists have been criticized for spreading messages seen as antisemitic or outright supportive of militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
Adjective
-
That’s coupled with a more hostile political environment for diversity-forward businesses.—
Phoebe Liu,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
-
The crowd was right on top of you there, the students rimmed the court, the very definition of a hostile environment.—
Jim Calhoun with Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
8 June 2025
Adjective
-
Wolf-dogs are quarrelsome, but not a great deal more so than normal sled dogs.—
Ted Updike,
Outdoor Life,
22 May 2025
-
And what of the fact that Snow White, abandoned in the woods (where the Huntsman is too kindhearted to carry out the Evil Queen’s order to murder her), comes upon a cottage where seven cute, quarrelsome 249-year-old short men with Amish beards live in bachelor squalor and become her protectors?—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Cass fulfills his obligations in a particularly irritable way.—
Jesse Hassenger,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2025
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One person’s fatigue is another’s back pain, is another’s migraine or irritable bowel, or long Covid, and so on.—
Jessica DuLong,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Their relationship can be difficult as AM is stubborn and likes to have her way always.—
Carolyn Rosenblatt,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
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Some of these infections stop on their own, but others are too stubborn, or too serious, to leave untreated.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disputatious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disputatious. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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