debate

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal
  2. noun the formal presentation of a stated proposition and the opposition to it (usually followed by a vote)
  3. verb argue with one another

Etymology

From Middle English debaten, from Old French debatre (“to fight, contend, debate, also literally to beat down”), from Romanic desbattere, from Latin dis- (“apart, in different directions”) + battuō (“to beat, to fence”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

argument, argumentation

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