argument

UK: /ˈɑː^rgjʊmənt/ US: /ˈɑrgjəmənt/ ,(är′gyə mənt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ar•gu•ment /ˈɑrgyəmənt/   n. 

1. [countable] a disagreement or quarrel in words.
2. [countable] a discussion involving differing points of view;
   debate.
3. a statement, reason, or fact for or against a point:
   [countable] an argument in favor of disarmament.
4. discourse intended to persuade:
   [uncountable] Argument proved useless.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ar•gu•ment  (är′gyə mənt), n. 

1. an oral disagreement;
   verbal opposition;
   contention;
   altercation:
   a violent argument.
2. a discussion involving differing points of view;
   debate:
   They were deeply involved in an argument about inflation.
3. a process of reasoning;
   series of reasons:
   I couldn't follow his argument.
4. a statement, reason, or fact for or against a point:
   This is a strong argument in favor of her theory.
5. an address or composition intended to convince or persuade;
   persuasive discourse.
6. subject matter;
   theme:
   The central argument of his paper was presented clearly.
7. Literature an abstract or summary of the major points in a work of prose or poetry, or of sections of such a work.
8. Mathematics
   • an independent variable of a function.
   • Also called amplitude. the angle made by a given vector with the reference axis.
   • Mathematics the angle corresponding to a point representing a given complex number in polar coordinates. Cf. principal argument.
9. Computing a variable in a program, to which a value will be assigned when the program is run: often given in parentheses following a function name and used to calculate the function.
10. [Obs.]
    • evidence or proof.
    • a matter of contention.

• Latin argūmentum. See argue, -ment
• Old French)
• Middle English (1325–75

Synonyms

• 1. Argument, controversy, dispute imply the expression of opinions for and against some idea. An argument usually arises from a disagreement between two persons, each of whom advances facts supporting his or her own point of view. A controversy or a dispute may involve two or more persons. A dispute is an oral contention, usually brief, and often of a heated, angry, or undignified character:
  a violent dispute over a purchase.
  A controversy is an oral or written expression of contrary opinions, and may be dignified and of some duration:
  a political controversy.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

argument / ˈɑːɡjʊmənt/ noun

1. a quarrel; altercation
2. a discussion in which reasons are put forward in support of and against a proposition, proposal, or case; debate
3. (sometimes plural) a point or series of reasons presented to support or oppose a proposition
4. a summary of the plot or subject of a book, etc
5. a process of deductive or inductive reasoning that purports to show its conclusion to be true
6. an obsolete name for the middle term of a syllogism
7. an element to which an operation, function, predicate, etc, applies, esp the independent variable of a function