dispute
[noun]
Synonyms:
- disagreement, altercation, argument, conflict, feud, quarrel
- argument, contention, controversy, debate, discussion, dissension
[verb]
Synonyms:
- doubt, challenge, contest, contradict, deny, impugn, question, rebut
- argue, clash, cross swords, debate, quarrel, squabble

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Antonyms: concede
Contrasted words: give in, surrender, allow, grant
Related Words: confute, controvert, disprove, rebut, refute, conflict, discord, dissension, strife

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English Thesaurus: argument, row, disagreement, quarrel, feud, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. dis‧pute¹ W2 /dɪˈspjuːt, ˈdɪspjuːt/ noun [uncountable and countable]

1. a serious argument or disagreement
dispute with
The firm is involved in a legal dispute with a rival company.
dispute over
He got into a dispute over a taxi fare.
dispute between
the bitter border dispute between the countries

2. be beyond dispute if something is beyond dispute, everyone agrees that it is true or that it really happened:
It is beyond dispute that advances in medicine have enabled people to live longer.

3. be open to dispute if something is open to dispute, it is not completely certain and not everyone agrees about it:
His interpretation of the poem is open to dispute.

4. be in dispute if something is in dispute, people are arguing about it:
The facts of the case are still in dispute.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. dis‧pute² /dɪˈspjuːt/ verb
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Old French; Origin: desputer, from Latin disputare 'to discuss', from putare 'to think']

1. [transitive] to say that something such as a fact or idea is not correct or true:
The main facts of the book have never been disputed.
dispute that
Few would dispute that travel broadens the mind.

2. [intransitive and transitive] formal to argue or disagree with someone
dispute (something) with somebody
Hazlitt, though much younger, was soon disputing with Wordsworth on equal terms.
What happened next is hotly disputed.

3. [transitive] to try to get control of something or win something:
Soviet forces disputed every inch of ground.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

dispute
noun
ADJ. considerable, major, serious There is considerable dispute over the precise definition of ‘social class’ as a term. The incident sparked off a major dispute between the two countries.
minor | acrimonious, bitter, fierce, heated | damaging | simmering The simmering dispute erupted in public when the two men came to blows at the party conference.
continuing, lengthy, long-running, long-standing, prolonged, protracted | outstanding He proposed a negotiated settlement of the outstanding disputes between the two countries.
public | local, international | internal There were lengthy internal disputes between the two wings of the party.
domestic, family | labour, industrial, pay | border, boundary, land, territorial | legal | ideological, political | commercial, financial, trade | religious
VERB + DISPUTE cause, lead to, provoke, spark (off) one of the many factors that led to the dispute
enter | be drawn into Governments are often drawn into disputes about matters of public taste and decency.
be embroiled in, be engaged in, be involved in They became embroiled in a dispute with their neighbours.
deal with, handle Police have difficulties in dealing with domestic disputes.
adjudicate, decide The purpose of industrial tribunals is to adjudicate disputes between employers and employees.
resolve, settle, solve | lose, win | avoid, prevent | be open to His theories are open to dispute (= can be disagreed with).
DISPUTE + VERB arise, begin, erupt No one could remember exactly how the dispute had arisen.
escalate | concern sth disputes concerning environmental protection
involve sb/sth
PREP. beyond ~ The matter was settled beyond dispute by the court judgment (= it could no longer be argued about).
in ~ (with) The actual sum of compensation due is still in dispute (= being argued about). The employees have been in dispute with management for three weeks.
under ~ the matters under dispute
~ about/over, ~ among/amongst The exact relationship between the two languages is a matter of dispute amongst scholars.
~ as to There is no dispute as to the facts.
~ between a long-standing dispute between the families over ownership of the land.
~ with
PHRASES an area/a matter of dispute, potential/room/scope for dispute to minimize the scope for dispute over the meaning of the terms employed
the resolution/settlement of a dispute

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dispute
verb
ADV. fiercely, hotly The effectiveness of this treatment is still hotly disputed.
VERB + DISPUTE can/cannot No one can dispute the fact that men still hold the majority of public offices.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

dispute

resolve/settle a dispute (=end it)
It is hoped that the dispute can be resolved peacefully.
be involved in a dispute
The US government became involved in a dispute with China.
get into a dispute (=become involved)
We don’t want to get into a dispute with them.
be in dispute with somebody
He was in dispute with the company about his contract.
be locked in a dispute (=be involved in one that is difficult to resolve)
Workers and management are locked in a bitter dispute.
a dispute arises (=starts)
Sometimes a dispute arises between the seller and the buyer.
a bitter/fierce dispute (=very angry)
It caused a bitter dispute between the neighbouring republics.
a long-running dispute (=continuing for a long time)
India’s long-running dispute with Pakistan
an industrial dispute British English
a labor dispute American English (=between workers and employers)
A lot of working days are lost through industrial disputes.
a pay dispute (=about how much money employees are paid)
The pay dispute involved 450 staff.
a political/legal dispute
There was a long legal dispute between the two companies.
a domestic dispute formal (=between people who live together)
The court heard that he had been stabbed during a domestic dispute.
a border dispute (=about where the border between two countries is)
a border dispute between Argentina and Chile
a territorial dispute (=about which country land belongs to)
The war started as the result of a territorial dispute.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

argument a situation in which people speak angrily to each other because they disagree about something:
an argument between two drivers over who had right of way
A 29-year-old man was shot and killed today after an argument over a gambling debt.
row British English, fight especially American English a loud angry argument with someone, especially your boyfriend, girlfriend, or someone in your family. Row is also used about a serious disagreement between politicians about important public issues:
There were always fights between my parents.
the continuing row over tax increases
A few months ago they had a big row, and Steve drove off and spent the weekend in London.
disagreement a situation in which people disagree with each other, but without shouting or getting angry:
There were the occasional disagreements about money, but mostly we got on well.
Ginny had left the company after a disagreement with her boss.
quarrel especially British English an argument, especially one in which people get angry and that lasts a long time. Quarrel sounds more formal and more serious than argument or row:
a bitter family quarrel
feud /fjuːd/ a very bitter argument between two groups, especially families, which lasts for many years and causes people to hate each other:
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys raged for 20 years.
dispute a public or legal argument about something, especially one which continues for a long time:
Morris has been involved in a long legal dispute with his publisher.
The settlement will resolve a long-running dispute over the country’s nuclear program.
war/battle of words an argument in which two people or groups criticize each other continuously in public:
The war of words over construction delays at the airport has erupted again.
bust-up British English informal a very bad argument, especially one in which people decide to separate from each other:
He had a bust-up with the team manager.
shouting match an angry argument in which people shout at each other:
He got into a shouting match with another driver.
slanging match British English informal an argument in which people insult each other:
He was sacked after a slanging match with a colleague.
argue to speak angrily to someone because you disagree with them about something:
Those two are always arguing.
We rarely argue with each other.
have an argument to argue with someone for a period of time about a particular thing:
She had a long argument with the man who was selling the tickets.
have a row /raʊ/ British English, have a fight especially American English to have an argument with someone, especially with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or a member of your family:
She was upset because she’d had a fight with her boyfriend.
The couple at the next table were having a row.
squabble /ˈskwɒbəl $ ˈskwɑː-/ to argue about unimportant things:
The kids were squabbling over what to watch on TV.
fall out with somebody British English to have a big argument with someone that results in you stopping having a friendly relationship with them:
I’ve fallen out with my best friend.
be at each other’s throats if two people are at each other’s throats, they are always arguing in a very angry way:
His parents are constantly at each other’s throats.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

argument a situation in which people speak angrily to each other because they disagree about something:
an argument between two drivers over who had right of way
A 29-year-old man was shot and killed today after an argument over a gambling debt.
row British English, fight especially American English a loud angry argument with someone, especially your boyfriend, girlfriend, or someone in your family. Row is also used about a serious disagreement between politicians about important public issues:
There were always fights between my parents.
the continuing row over tax increases
A few months ago they had a big row, and Steve drove off and spent the weekend in London.
disagreement a situation in which people disagree with each other, but without shouting or getting angry:
There were the occasional disagreements about money, but mostly we got on well.
Ginny had left the company after a disagreement with her boss.
quarrel especially British English an argument, especially one in which people get angry and that lasts a long time. Quarrel sounds more formal and more serious than argument or row:
a bitter family quarrel
feud /fjuːd/ a very bitter argument between two groups, especially families, which lasts for many years and causes people to hate each other:
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys raged for 20 years.
dispute a public or legal argument about something, especially one which continues for a long time:
Morris has been involved in a long legal dispute with his publisher.
The settlement will resolve a long-running dispute over the country’s nuclear program.
war/battle of words an argument in which two people or groups criticize each other continuously in public:
The war of words over construction delays at the airport has erupted again.
bust-up British English informal a very bad argument, especially one in which people decide to separate from each other:
He had a bust-up with the team manager.
shouting match an angry argument in which people shout at each other:
He got into a shouting match with another driver.
slanging match British English informal an argument in which people insult each other:
He was sacked after a slanging match with a colleague.
squabble /ˈskwɒbəl $ ˈskwɑː-/ an argument about something that is not important:
There were the usual squabbles between brothers and sisters.
Voters are tired of petty squabbles between party leaders.
tiff informal an argument that is not very serious, between people who are in love:
Gary had a bit of a tiff with his girlfriend.
misunderstanding a slight argument – a rather formal word which is often used humorously:
There was a slight misunderstanding over the bill, but everything’s been sorted out now.
skirmish a short argument, especially between politicians or sports opponents:
Evans and O'Brien had several political skirmishes.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

dispute
dɪsˈpju:t
See: in dispute

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲