controversial

CEFRC1

/ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
adjective
Causing strong disagreement or argument among different people.
02
adjective
Extra detail
Engaging in or given to controversy; disputatious, argumentative.

Examples

He was criticized for voicing such a controversial opinion.
One store decided to pull the controversial CD from its shelves.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 4
Parts of speech: 1
Citations: 5
Synonyms: 2

Also pronounced

[ˌkɑn.t͡ʃɹəˈvɝ.ʃɫ̩]
/ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.si.əl/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

Someone or something (such as a matter or an argument) that is controversial.
Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.

More examples

In context

Whole libraries of controversial books.
No fundamental doctrine was omitted. Controversials were carefully avoided. Whether any blessing attended these attempts, will be known at the last day.
Napoleon’s a pastry / Get this under your brow / All those big wig controversials / Are all commercials now.

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The politician made a blank statement that sparked heated public debates.

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Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

Whole libraries of controversial books.
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Lon...
No fundamental doctrine was omitted. Controversials were carefully avoided. Whether any blessing attended these attempts, will be known at the last day.
1864, John Price, Old Price’s Remains; Præhumous, or During Life; Comprising, with Select Patches of “Birkenhead Shore,” Various Other Articles, Scientific and Literary, Grave and Gay, London: Virtue, Brothers, […], page 88
Blowing like a blast of fresh astringent air into the hot-house atmosphere of these vapid languors, came news from America of a Rational Dress Campaign. Mrs. Amelia Bloomer’s conspicuous controversials were a wonderful gift to Punch, and were welcomed with enthusiasm and joyful derision by the cartoonists […]
1961, Alison Adburgham, A Punch History of Manners and Modes, 1841–1940, London: Hutchinson & Co., page 39
Napoleon’s a pastry / Get this under your brow / All those big wig controversials / Are all commercials now.
1993, Harold Meyerson, Ernie Harburg, with Arthur Perlman, Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz? Yip Harburg, Lyricist, Ann Arbor, Mich.: The University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 357
Although the numbers of controversial children were few, their finely tuned distinction between types of transgression concurs with the observation that the behaviour of controversials is highly skilled. While the behaviour of controversial children may often meet with negative reactions from peers and reprimands from adults, controversials may engage in even more prosocial behaviour than do popular peers (Dodge, 1983).
1997, Michael Siegal, Knowing Children: Experiments in Conversation and Cognition (Essays in Developmental Psychology), 2nd edition, Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 116

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Origin

adjective

From Latin contrōversiālis, from contrōversia + -ālis. By surface analysis, controversy + -al.

Deep Dive

adjective

More examples

Related

Quick test

The politician made a blank— statement that sparked heated public debates.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

The politician made a blank statement that sparked heated public debates.