Controversial definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

If you describe something or someone as controversial, you mean that they are the subject of intense public argument, disagreement, or disapproval. EnglishDictionary Thesaurus WordLists Grammar EnglishEasyLearningGrammar GrammarPatterns EnglishUsage TeachingResources VideoGuides Conjugations Sentences Video LearnEnglish Videopronunciations Buildyourvocabulary Quiz Englishgrammar Englishcollocations Englishconfusables Englishidioms Englishusage Thematicwordlists English French German Italian Spanish Portuguese Hindi Chinese Korean Japanese Definitionof 'controversial'    WordFrequency Share× Credits× controversial (kɒntrəvɜːʳʃəl ) adjective Ifyoudescribesomethingorsomeoneascontroversial,youmeanthattheyarethesubjectofintensepublicargument,disagreement,ordisapproval. Immigrationisacontroversialissueinmanycountries. Whenitwasfirstsuggestedthatpassivesmokingwasharmful,theideawascontroversial andtheevidencethin. Thechangesareboundtobecontroversial. ...thecontroversial19thcenturypoliticianCharlesParnell. Synonyms:disputed,contended,contentious,atissue MoreSynonymsofcontroversial controversially adverb[oftADVERBwithverb]Morecontroversially,heclaimsthatthesehigherprofitscoverthecostoffinding freshtalent. DavidHirstwascontroversiallysentoffonhisEuropeandebutforSheffieldWednesday lastnight. COBUILDAdvancedEnglishDictionary.Copyright©HarperCollinsPublishers Video:pronunciationof controversial Youmayalsolike EnglishQuizConfusables Synonymsof'controversial' LanguageLover'sBlog FrenchTranslationof'controversial' Translateyourtext PronunciationPlaylists Wordoftheday:'eldritch' HindiTranslationof'controversial' NEWfromCollins! EnglishGrammar CollinsApps WordFrequency controversialinAmericanEnglish (ˌkɑntrəˈvɜrʃəl ;ˌkɑntrəˈvɜrsiəl ) adjective1.  of,subjectto,orstirringupcontroversy;debatable 2. Rare likingtotakepartincontroversy;disputatious Webster’sNewWorldCollegeDictionary,4thEdition.Copyright©2010by HoughtonMifflinHarcourt.Allrightsreserved. Derivedformscontroversially(ˌcontroˈversially) adverb WordoriginLLcontroversialis WordFrequency controversialinAmericanEnglish (ˌkɑntrəˈvɜːrʃəl) adjective1. of,pertainingto,orcharacteristicofcontroversy;polemical acontroversialbook 2. subjecttocontroversy;debatable acontroversialdecision 3. giventocontroversy;disputatious SYNONYMS2.arguable,questionable.Mostmaterial©2005,1997,1991byPenguinRandomHouseLLC.Modifiedentries©2019 byPenguinRandomHouseLLCandHarperCollinsPublishersLtd Derivedformscontroversialismnoun controversialistnoun controversiallyadverb Wordorigin[1575–85;‹LLcontrōversiālis,equiv.toLcontrōversi(a)controversy+-ālis-al1] Examplesof'controversial'inasentence controversial TheseexampleshavebeenautomaticallyselectedandmaycontainsensitivecontentthatdoesnotreflecttheopinionsorpoliciesofCollins,oritsparentcompanyHarperCollins. Wewelcomefeedback:reportanexamplesentencetotheCollinsteam.Readmore… Itisasensitiveandcontroversialtopicinsidetheleague.TheGuardian(2015)Nobillcouldbelesscontroversial.TheGuardian(2016)Whatevidencecanyouciteforthiscontroversialandunsettlingassertion?TheGuardian(2017)Thecontroversialsystemhasdividedtheindustry.TheGuardian(2019)Thenewpoliciesarelikelytobecontroversialinsomecircles.TheGuardian(2020)BINcollectionscouldbecomemonthlyratherthanweeklyundercontroversialnewplans.TheSun(2016)Whentheyhadacontroversialsubjectlikethistheyshouldhavecheckeditout.Times,SundayTimes(2015)Mostcontroversialissomethingthatwillnotbeseen.Times,SundayTimes(2011)Ifhehad,therewouldhavebeennoneedforthecontroversialplanputforwardlastweek.Times,SundayTimes(2008)AndTanwiselydroppedthecontroversialplanstochangetheclub'sname.TheSun(2013) COBUILDCollocations controversial  controversialdeal controversialdecision controversialepisode controversialfigure controversialfilm controversialissue controversiallegislation controversialmeasure controversialmove controversialopinion controversialplan controversialproject controversialproposal controversialremark controversialruling controversialstatement controversialsubject controversialtactic controversialtechnique controversialtheory controversialtreatment controversialview highlycontroversial hugelycontroversial politicallycontroversial potentiallycontroversial Showmore... Trendsof controversial Viewusagefor: AllYears Last10years Last50years Last100years Last300years Inotherlanguages controversial BritishEnglish:controversial /ˌkɒntrəˈvɜːʃəl/ADJECTIVESomeoneorsomethingthatiscontroversialcausesintensepublicargument,disagreement,ordisapproval....thecontroversialnewbook.AmericanEnglish:controversial /kɒntrəˈvɜrʃəl/Arabic:جَدَلِيّ BrazilianPortuguese:controverso Chinese:有争议的 Croatian:prijeporan Czech:kontroverzní Danish:kontroversiel Dutch:controversieel EuropeanSpanish:polémico Finnish:kiistanalainen French:polémique German:umstritten Greek:αμφιλεγόμενος Italian:controverso Japanese:論争の Korean:논쟁의 Norwegian:kontroversiell Polish:kontrowersyjny EuropeanPortuguese:controverso Romanian:controversatRussian:спорный LatinAmericanSpanish:polémico Swedish:kontroversiell Thai:ซึ่งก่อให้เกิดการโต้แย้ง Turkish:tartışmalı Ukrainian:скандальнийVietnamese:gâytranhcãi Translateyourtextforfree Browsealphabetically controversial controlment controls controverse controversial controversialaspect controversialbill controversialbook AllENGLISHwordsthatbeginwith'C' Relatedtermsof controversial controversialbill controversialbook controversialdeal controversialfilm controversialidea Viewmorerelatedwords Source DefinitionofcontroversialfromtheCollinsEnglishDictionary ReadabouttheteamofauthorsbehindCollinsDictionaries. NewfromCollins QuickwordchallengeQuizReviewQuestion:1 - Score:0/5 know or no?Whichversioniscorrect?Idon'tknowthenameoftheplace.Idon'tnothenameoftheplace.throne or thrown?Whichversioniscorrect?Atpresentheisthirdinlinetothethrone.Atpresentheisthirdinlinetothethrown.flea or flee?Whichversioniscorrect?Thousandshavehadtofleathecountry.Thousandshavehadtofleethecountry.groan or grown?Whichversioniscorrect?I'veneverseenagroupofgroanmenlaughsomuch.I'veneverseenagroupofgrownmenlaughsomuch.idle or idol?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. idol idleThecrowdcheeredastheycaughtsightoftheir .Yourscore:CheckSeetheanswerNextNextquizReview Aug31,2022 Wordoftheday eldritch unearthly;weird SEEFULLDEFINITION SEEPREVIOUSWORDS Signupforournewsletter Getthelatestnewsandgainaccesstoexclusiveupdatesandoffers Signmeup LatestWordSubmissions sikhye Aug25,2022 sansa Aug25,2022 arirang Aug25,2022 jeogori Aug24,2022 ViewMoreSubmit DiviningthehallmarksofGothicliterature Withspookyseasonrapidlyapproaching,nothingmarkstheturnoftheseasonsbetterthanFrankensteinDayon30thAugust. Readmore What’sthedifferencebetweenbootandtrunk? Intoday'sLearningEnglishpostwearelookingatsomewordswhichcanbeuseddifferentlyinBritishandAmericanEnglish:bootandtrunk.ImproveyourEnglishwithCollins. Readmore NationalRadioDay With20AugustmarkingNationalRadioDay,wetalkaboutallthingsradio,fromitsinventiontocommonterminologyinusetoday. Readmore CollinsEnglishDictionaryApps DownloadourEnglishDictionaryapps-availableforbothiOSandAndroid. Readmore CollinsDictionariesforSchools Ournewonlinedictionariesforschoolsprovideasafeandappropriateenvironmentforchildren.Andbestofallit'sadfree,sosignupnowandstartusingathomeorintheclassroom. Readmore Wordlists Wehavealmost200listsofwordsfromtopicsasvariedastypesofbutterflies,jackets,currencies,vegetablesandknots! Amazeyourfriendswithyournew-foundknowledge! Readmore Scrabblescorefor'controversial':18 WordleHelper StuckatWordle?Tryourhelpertomaintainyourcurrentstreak! QuickwordchallengeQuizReviewQuestion:1 - Score:0/5 allow or let?Whichversioniscorrect?Willyouallowmetogototheparty?Willyouletmetogototheparty?childlike or childish?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. childish childlikeWewereshockedbytheirselfishand behaviour.also or too?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. also tooThey helpedout.afraid or frightened?Whichversioniscorrect?AllIcouldseewasaveryafraiddog.AllIcouldseewasaveryfrighteneddog.alternate or alternative?Dragthecorrectanswerintothebox. alternate alternativeWesaweachotheron Saturdaynights.Yourscore:CheckSeetheanswerNextNextquizReview What’sthedifferencebetweenanniversaryandbirthday? Thisweekwearelookingattwowordswhicharesometimesconfused:anniversaryandbirthday.ImproveyourEnglishwithCollins. 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