argument Hear it!

argument Definition

ar·gu·ment (är′gyo̵̅o̅ mənt, -gyə-)

noun

  1. Archaic proof or evidence
  2. a reason or reasons offered for or against something
  3. the offering of such reasons; reasoning
  4. a discussion in which there is disagreement; dispute; debate
  5. a short statement of subject matter, or a brief synopsis of a plot; summary
  6. Obsolete a topic; theme
  7. Math. independent variable

Etymology: ME < OFr or L: OFr < L argumentum, evidence, proof < arguere: see argue

argument Synonyms

argument

n.

  1. An effort to convince

    discussion, exchange, contention; see discussion 1, 2.

  2. Material intended to convince

    case, reasoning, evidence, reasons; see proof 1, thought 1.

  3. Verbal disagreement

    debate, quarrel, row; see dispute. See syn. study atdispute.

argument Law Definition

n

  1. The reason or reasons offered for or against something.
  2. The formal oral or written presentation of such reasons intended to convince or persuade.
  3. The section of an appellate or trial brief in which a party pre-sents its interpretation of the law.
closing argument
At a trial, the final statement given by the parties or their attorneys to the judge or jury, before deliberation, in which they summarize the evidence and the applicable law, present their interpretation of the same, and ask that a judgment or verdict be reached in their or their clients’ favors.
oral argument
  1. A party or his attorney’s oral presentation to a court stating the factual and legal reasons why the court should decide a legal issue or take particular action in their favor.
  2. The procedure by which such arguments from all parties are heard by the court.
reargument
The oral, and sometimes written, presentation of additional arguments to a court on a matter previously argued before the court, but on which no decision has yet been rendered, for the purpose of advising the court of some controlling appellate court decision or principle of law that was previously overlooked or of some misapprehension of facts. See also reconsideration and rehearing.

argument Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • construct: It also requires them to construct arguments in writing.
  • accept: We wouldn't accept that argument for primary and secondary education, why should HE be any different?
  • settle: The perfect way to settle every football argument or demonstrate tactics that should have been used on the pitch.
  • win: The Bolsheviks won the argument - the revolution had to move forward.

Preposition: against

functionalism: How is the scenario turned into an argument against functionalism?

Converse of subject

  • convince: The Senate of AAU was also convinced by this argument.
  • persuade: The lower appellate court was not persuaded by this argument.

Adjective modifier

  • convincing: A convincing argument backed by a previously stated policy may limit escalation of a crisis.
  • compelling: One of the most compelling arguments for the use of computer games in education is that they are inherently social.
  • ontological: The ontological argument rests upon the false assumption that existence is a predicate.
  • persuasive: The eurosceptics ' most persuasive argument is that the EU is ' imposed on the people ' .
  • optional: The optional f argument can be used to specify an alternate stack frame to start.
  • logical: Transferable Skills Students will further improve skills in logical argument, mathematical reasoning.

Noun used with modifier

  • skeleton: Mr Dennys relied on certain passages in Hansard in his skeleton argument.
  • command-line: The sample is a command-line application that takes one command-line argument.
  • command: Note that the sed edit script, introduced by the sed command line argument -e spreads over two lines.
  • prefix: With a prefix argument, displays the plain ` diff ' output.

Possessives

appellant: In doing so we are assisted by the fact that the District Judge has provided us with comments on the appellant's skeleton argument.

Preposition: in

favor: So the arguments in favor of luxury were persuasive!

Preposition: for

existence: This book is a nice and easy look at the various arguments for the existence of God presented from a Christian point of view.

Browse dictionary entries near argument

  1. ‹ argufy
  2. ‹ arguendo
  3. ‹ argue
  4. ‹ arguably
  5. ‹ arguable
  6. ‹ Argovie
  7. ‹ argot
  8. ‹ argosy
  9. ‹ Argos
  10. ‹ Argonne
  1. argumentation ›
  2. argumentative ›
  3. argumentum ›
  4. Argus ›
  5. Argus-eyed ›
  6. argy-bargy ›
  7. argyle ›
  8. Argyll ›
  9. Argyll and Bute ›
  10. argyrodite ›