debate

1. 1.

   a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal

   “the argument over foreign aid goes on and on”

   Synonymsargumentargumentation

   Broaderdiscussion

   Narrowerlogomachy
2. 2.

   the formal presentation of a stated proposition and the opposition to it (usually followed by a vote)

   Synonymsdisputationpublic debate

   Broaderpublic speaking

Other forms of debate

plural

debates·

past tense

debated·

present participle

debating·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about debate

What does debate mean?

debate means "argue with one another". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in debate?

debate has 2 syllables: de-bate. The stress falls on "bate". In IPA it is /dəˈbeɪt/.

What is another word for debate?

Close synonyms include consider, moot, turn over, deliberate, deliberate. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is debate a common word?

debate is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with debate?

8 words rhyme with debate. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.