controversial

English Online Dictionary. What means controversial‎? What does controversial mean?

English

Alternative forms

• controversional (now nonstandard)

Etymology

From Latin controversia (“controversy”) + -al; see controversy.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/, /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.sjəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.sjəl/, /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.si.əl/ [ˌkɑn.t͜ʃɹəˈvɝ.ʃl̩]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌkɔn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/
• Hyphenation: con‧tro‧ver‧sial

Adjective

controversial (comparative more controversial, superlative most controversial)

1. Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.
2. Engaging in or given to controversy; disputatious, argumentative.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Collocations

Translations

Noun

controversial (plural controversials)

1. (now rare) Someone or something (such as a matter or an argument) that is controversial.

See also

Further reading

• “controversial”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “controversial”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “controversial, adj. & n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.; compare “controversial”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English controversial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kontɾobeɾˈsjal/ [kõn̪.t̪ɾo.β̞eɾˈsjal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: con‧tro‧ver‧sial

Adjective

controversial m or f (masculine and feminine plural controversiales)

1. (Latin America) controversial

   Synonym: controvertido

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “controversial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• “controversial”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010