[ad_1] noun
- an oral disagreement; verbal opposition; contention; altercation: a violent argument.
- a discussion involving differing points of view; debate: They were deeply involved in an argument about inflation.
- a process of reasoning; series of reasons: I couldn’t follow his argument.
- a statement, reason, or fact for or against a point: This is a strong argument in favor of her theory.
- an address or composition intended to convince or persuade; persuasive discourse.
- subject matter; theme: The central argument of his paper was presented clearly.
- an abstract or summary of the major points in a work of prose or poetry, or of sections of such a work.
- Mathematics.
- an independent variable of a function.
- Also called amplitude.the angle made by a given vector with the reference axis.
- the angle corresponding to a point representing a given complex number in polar coordinates.Compare principal argument.
- Computers. a variable in a program, to which a value will be assigned when the program is run: often given in parentheses following a function name and used to calculate the function.
- Obsolete.
- evidence or proof.
- a matter of contention.
noun
- a quarrel; altercation
- a discussion in which reasons are put forward in support of and against a proposition, proposal, or case; debatethe argument on birth control will never be concluded
- (sometimes plural) a point or series of reasons presented to support or oppose a proposition
- a summary of the plot or subject of a book, etc
- logic
- a process of deductive or inductive reasoning that purports to show its conclusion to be true
- formally, a sequence of statements one of which is the conclusion and the remainder the premises
- logic an obsolete name for the middle term of a syllogism
- maths
- an element to which an operation, function, predicate, etc, applies, esp the independent variable of a function
- the amplitude of a complex number
early 14c., “statements and reasoning in support of a proposition,” from Old French arguement “reasoning, opinion; accusation, charge” (13c.), from Latin argumentum “evidence, ground, support, proof; a logical argument,” from arguere “to argue” (see argue). Sense passed through “subject of contention” to “a quarrel,” a sense formerly attached to argumentation.
see under pick a quarrel.