v., -gued, -gu·ing, -gues. v.tr.
- To put forth reasons for or against; debate: “It is time to stop arguing tax-rate reductions and to enact them” (Paul Craig Roberts).
- To attempt to prove by reasoning; maintain or contend: The speaker argued that more immigrants should be admitted to the country.
- To give evidence of; indicate: “Similarities cannot always be used to argue descent” (Isaac Asimov).
- To persuade or influence (another), as by presenting reasons: argued the clerk into lowering the price.
- To put forth reasons for or against something: argued for dismissal of the case; argued against an immediate counterattack.
- To engage in a quarrel; dispute.
[Middle English arguen, from Old French arguer, from Latin argūtāre, to babble, chatter, frequentative of arguere, to make clear.]
arguer ar'gu·er n.SYNONYMS argue, quarrel, wrangle, squabble, bicker. These verbs denote verbal exchange expressing conflict. To argue is to present reasons or facts in order to persuade someone of something: “I am not arguing with you—I am telling you” (James McNeill Whistler). Quarrel stresses hostility: The children quarreled over whose turn it was to wash the dishes. Wrangle refers to loud, contentious argument: “audiences . . . who can be overheard wrangling about film facts in restaurants and coffee houses” (Sheila Benson). Squabble suggests petty or trivial argument: “The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin . . . would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities” (Theodore Roosevelt). Bicker connotes sharp, persistent, bad-tempered exchange: The senators bickered about the President's tax proposal for weeks. See also synonyms at discuss, indicate.
