argument
Reason to persuade
An argument doesn’t necessarily involve conflict.
An argument between two people is a disagreement: The neighbors were having a noisy argument.
When you present an argument, you present a sequence of statements that lead to a certain conclusion: It was hard to follow her argument for changing the law.
The argument of a book, thesis, paper, or report is the main point it makes, or the course of action that it advocates: He makes a strong argument for dating these artifacts to 1000 B.C.
In technical contexts such as math, logic, or computer science, an argument is a variable: The debugger says you have a missing argument at line 97.
Verbal clash over differences
- quarrelAngry verbal dispute
- altercationHeated verbal dispute
- clashViolent disagreement or collision
- contentionAssertion or rivalry
discord · friction · shouting match · feud · squabble · spat · tiff · wrangle
Foundation for logical argument
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
- deductionConclusion from premises
induction · syllogism · validity · soundness · fallacy · cogency · coherence · evidence
Academic argument requiring defense
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- propositionStatement expressing a judgment
- contentionAssertion or rivalry
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
assertion · supporting evidence · analysis · dissertation · paper · defense · literature review · methodology
Art of persuasive language
- ethosCollective moral character
- pathosPity-evoking quality
- logosBrand identification symbols
- convinceCause to believe
persuade · case · appeal · credibility · eloquence · assertion · point · stance
Exchange of ideas
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- disputationFormal argumentative exchange
- rebuttalFormal response disputing claims
cross-examination · opening statement · closing statement · proposition · opposition · moderator · podium · forensics
dispute
Verbal clash over differences
- quarrelAngry verbal dispute
- altercationHeated verbal dispute
- clashViolent disagreement or collision
contention · discord · friction · shouting match · feud · squabble · spat · tiff · wrangle · bickering
premise
Foundation for logical argument
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
deduction · induction · syllogism · validity · soundness · fallacy · cogency · coherence · evidence · proof
thesis
Academic argument requiring defense
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- propositionStatement expressing a judgment
- contentionAssertion or rivalry
claim · assertion · supporting evidence · analysis · dissertation · paper · defense · literature review · methodology · theoretical framework
rhetoric
Art of persuasive language
convince · persuade · case · appeal · credibility · eloquence · assertion · point · stance · position
discussion
Exchange of ideas
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- disputationFormal argumentative exchange
rebuttal · cross-examination · opening statement · closing statement · proposition · opposition · moderator · podium · forensics · oratory
- conversationlistening, talk, talking, chat, speaking
- social interactiongreeting, hello, goodbye, hi, bye
- interactionstalking, sharing, greeting, helping, listening
- social interactionshello, goodbye, talk, nod, chat
- conflictclash, fight, war, battle, dispute
- argumentsbickering, dispute, claim, contention, squabbling
argumentagreement
Shared position between parties
harmony · peace · accord · concord · reconciliation
argumentassertion
Confident statement of fact
assumption · dogma · opinion · conjecture · belief
argumentagreement
Shared position between parties
collaboration · dialogue · consensus · unanimity · concurrence
- circular argumentsProofs requiring their conclusions
- oral argumentSpoken case presentation
- heated argumentIntense verbal conflict
- closing argumentsAttorney's final jury address
- opening argumentsInitial courtroom persuasion
- valid argumentReasoning where conclusion follows necessarily
arguments, argumentative, argumentation, counterargument, argumentativeness, argumentatively