Refine this word faster
Argument
Definitions
- 1 A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason. also, countable, figuratively
"There is no greater, at leaſt no more palpable and convincing Argument of the Exiſtence of a Deity than the admirable Art and Wiſdom that diſcovers itſelf in the make and conſtitution, the order and diſpoſition, the ends and uſes of all the parts and members of this ſtately fabrick of Heaven and Earth."
- 2 a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning wordnet
- 3 A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason.; A series of propositions organized so that the final proposition is a conclusion which is intended to follow logically from the preceding propositions, which function as premises. also, countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Consider the argument: / 15) I am hungry; therefore I am hungry. / Intuitively this should count as valid. But suppose we thought of the components of arguments as sentences, and suppose we imagine the context shifting between the utterance of the premise and the utterance of the conclusion. Suppose you are hungry and utter the premise, and I am not hungry and utter the conclusion. Then we would have a true premise and a false conclusion, so the argument would not be valid. Clearly we need to avoid such problems, and introducing the notion of a proposition, in the style of this section, is one way of doing so."
- 4 a variable in a logical or mathematical expression whose value determines the dependent variable wordnet
- 5 A process of reasoning; argumentation. countable
"Indeed, I cannot commend my life; for I am conſcious to my ſelf of many failings: therein, I know alſo that a man by his converſation, may ſoon overthrow what by argument or perſwaſion he doth labour to faſten upon others for their good: […]"
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 (computer science) a reference or value that is passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command, or program wordnet
- 7 An abstract or summary of the content of a literary work such as a book, a poem or a major section such as a chapter, included in the work before the content itself; (figuratively) the contents themselves. countable
"If I would broach the veſſels of my loue, / And try the argument of hearts, by borrowing, / Men, and mens fortunes, could I frankely vſe / As I can bid thee ſpeake."
- 8 a summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play or movie wordnet
- 9 A verbal dispute; a quarrel. countable
"The neighbours got into an argument about the branches of the trees that extended over the fence."
- 10 a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true wordnet
- 11 Any dispute, altercation, or collision. broadly, countable, euphemistic, humorous, uncountable
"Steve got in a physical argument with his neighbor and came away with a black eye."
- 12 a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal wordnet
- 13 Any of the phrases that bear a syntactic connection to the verb of a clause. countable
"In numerous works over the past two decades, beginning with the pioneering work of Gruber (1965), Fillmore (1968a), and Jackendoff (1972), it has been argued that each Argument (i.e. Subject or Complement) of a Predicate bears a particular thematic role (alias theta-role, or θ-role to its Predicate), and that the set of thematic functions which Arguments can fulfil are drawn from a highly restricted, finite, universal set."
- 14 a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement wordnet
- 15 The independent variable of a function. countable, uncountable
- 16 The phase of a complex number. countable, uncountable
- 17 A quantity on which the calculation of another quantity depends. also, countable, uncountable
"The altitude is the argument of the refraction."
- 18 A value, or a reference to a value, passed to a function. countable, uncountable
"Parameters are like labelled fillable blanks used to define a function whereas arguments are passed to a function when calling it, filling in those blanks."
- 19 A parameter at a function call; an actual parameter, as opposed to a formal parameter. countable, uncountable
- 20 A matter in question; a business in hand. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"As neere as I could ſift him on that argument, On ſome apparent danger ſeene in him, Aimde at your highnes, no inueterate malice."
- 21 The subject matter of an artistic representation, discourse, or writing; a theme or topic. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"[I]n vttering the ſtuffe ye receiued of the one, in declaring the order ye tooke with the other, ye ſhall neuer lacke, neither matter, nor maner, what to write, nor how to write in this kinde of Argument."
- 22 Evidence, proof; (countable) an item of such evidence or proof. archaic, uncountable
"[F]or louing me, by my troth it is no addition to her wit, nor no great argument of her follie, for I will be horribly in loue with her, […]"
- 1 To put forward as an argument; to argue. intransitive, nonstandard, obsolete
"[I]t is moſt certaine, that after Herodotus and other auncient writers, it is ſafer to call theſe [elephants' tusks] teeth, then hornes; and I will breefly ſet downe the reaſons of Philoſtratus, that will haue them to be teeth, and afterward of Grapaldus [i.e., Francesco Mario Grapaldi], Aelianus, and Pauſanias, that would make them horns, and ſo leaue the reader to conſider whether opinion he thinketh moſt agreeable to truth. […] Thus they argument for the horns of Elephants."
- 2 To adduce evidence, to provide proof. intransitive, obsolete
"Albeit that it apperteneth to the apoſtolis, be the puiſtoun of God to tak ordour in all materis off debait cõcernyng ye faith, & ſpecialie to iterprete ye ſcripturis, as yat quhilkis had yͤ ſpreit of god, & wer yͤ trew kirk: It argumẽtis [argumentis] not yat vtheris, quha hes ꝯuenit [conuenit] ſenſyne in generale ꝯſales [consales] had the ſpreit of GOD, or wer the trew kirk: […]"
Etymology
From Middle English argument, from Anglo-Norman and Old French arguement, from Latin argumentum. The English word is analysable as argue + -ment. Doublet of argumentum. Displaced native Old English racu and ġeflit.
The obsolete senses are derived from Middle English argumenten (“to argue, discuss; to consider, reflect”), from Old French argumenter (“to argue”), from Latin argūmentārī (“to adduce arguments or proof, prove, reason; to adduce (something) as argument or proof; to conclude”), from argūmentum (“argument (for a position); evidence, proof; point, theme; thesis, topic; plot (in theatre)”) (see further at etymology 1) + -or (the first-person singular present passive indicative of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). The current sense is derived from the noun.
See also for "argument"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: argument