- argument
- noun1 discussionADJECTIVE▪ bitter, heated, violent▪ big▪
I had a big argument with my mother this morning.
▪ little, petty, pointless, silly, stupid▪ age-oldVERB + ARGUMENT▪ become involved in, get into, get involved in, have▪I don't want to get into an argument with her.
▪ cause, provoke, start▪ lose, win▪I was determined to win the argument.
▪ settle▪Jory was always the one who settled arguments between us.
ARGUMENT + VERB▪ arise, break out, develop, erupt▪Minutes later a violent argument erupted.
▪ ensue▪He felt offended by the suggestion, and a violent argument ensued.
▪ rage▪the bitter arguments raging about who was the real winner
PREPOSITION▪ argument about▪We had an argument about what we should buy.
▪ argument between▪an argument between her parents
▪ argument over▪The argument over decentralization will probably continue for ever.
▪ argument with▪an argument with his wife
PHRASES▪ brook no argument▪‘You'll come home with me.’ His voice brooked no argument.
2 reason supporting opinionADJECTIVE▪ basic, general▪ central, main▪ closing▪In her closing argument, the prosecutor said that the hairs found on the defendant matched those of the victim.
▪ forceful, good, major, powerful, sound, strong, valid▪ cogent, compelling, conclusive, convincing, persuasive▪There is a convincing argument for the Federal Government to take greater responsibility for cities.
▪The author makes a compelling argument for the use of hydrogen as a fuel.
▪ credible, plausible▪Their argument sounds plausible, but is it really valid?
▪ substantive (formal, esp. AmE)▪ bogus, fallacious (formal), slippery-slope (AmE), specious (formal), spurious, weak▪ ridiculous▪ circular▪ legitimate, reasonable▪ logical, rational, reasoned, well-reasoned▪ opposing▪ economic, legal, moral, philosophical, political, theoretical, etc.VERB + ARGUMENT▪ advance, deploy, make, mount, offer, present, put forward, use▪He put forward some very convincing arguments.
▪ articulate▪ develop▪This argument is developed further in the next chapter.
▪ build, construct, formulate, frame▪the language used to frame the legal arguments
▪ reiterate, repeat▪ bolster, buttress, illustrate, reinforce, strengthen, support, underline▪Do you have any evidence to support your argument?
▪ consider, hear, listen to▪ address▪I'll briefly address each argument.
▪ accept, agree with▪ dismiss, reject▪The company dismissed his arguments as alarmist.
▪ counter, discredit, rebut, refute▪She tried to think how to refute the argument on moral grounds.
▪ demolish, undercut, undermine, weaken▪ summarize▪ apply▪This argument can be applied to other contexts.
ARGUMENT + VERB▪ be based on sth▪The government's argument is always based on how much such a plan would cost.
▪ depend on sth, rely on sth, rest on sth, revolve around sth▪ boil down to sth▪As I see it, his argument boils down to a combination of two basic points.
▪ go, run▪Centralized government, so the argument goes, is too far removed from the problems of ordinary citizens.
▪ apply (to sth)▪The same argument applies to adoption.
▪ justify sth▪ support sth▪ imply sth, suggest sth▪These arguments suggest that the medical establishment had an interest in suppressing the research.
▪ show sth▪ assume sthPREPOSITION▪ argument against▪the arguments against lowering taxes
▪ argument concerning▪arguments concerning the nature of morality
▪ argument for▪There is a very good argument for increasing spending.
▪ argument in favour/favor of▪What are the arguments in favour/favor of change?
PHRASES▪ all sides of an argument, both sides of an argument▪He was able to see both sides of the argument.
▪ a flaw in the argument▪I can see no flaw in your argument.
▪ a line of argument▪I can see a few problems with this line of argument.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
