ARGUMENT

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does argument mean? 

• ARGUMENT (noun)
  The noun ARGUMENT has 7 senses:

1. a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true

2. a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement

3. a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal

4. a summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play or movie

5. (computer science) a reference or value that is passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command, or program

6. a variable in a logical or mathematical expression whose value determines the dependent variable; if f(x)=y, x is the independent variable

7. a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning

  Familiarity information: ARGUMENT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ARGUMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

argument; statement

Context example:

it was a strong argument that his hypothesis was true

Hypernyms ("argument" is a kind of...):

evidence (an indication that makes something evident)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "argument"):

adducing (citing as evidence or proof)

specious argument (an argument that appears good at first view but is really fallacious)

last word (the final statement in a verbal argument)

clincher; determiner; determining factor (an argument that is conclusive)

case (a statement of facts and reasons used to support an argument)

con (an argument opposed to a proposal)

pro (an argument in favor of a proposal)

counterargument (an argument offered in opposition to another argument)

proof (a formal series of statements showing that if one thing is true something else necessarily follows from it)

Derivation:

argue (give evidence of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

arguing; argument; contention; contestation; controversy; disceptation; disputation; tilt

Context example:

they were involved in a violent argument

Hypernyms ("argument" is a kind of...):

conflict; difference; difference of opinion; dispute (a disagreement or argument about something important)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "argument"):

argle-bargle; argy-bargy (a verbal dispute; a wrangling argument)

firestorm (an outburst of controversy)

sparring (an argument in which the participants are trying to gain some advantage)

polemic (a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma))

fight (an intense verbal dispute)

Derivation:

argue (have an argument about something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

argument; argumentation; debate

Context example:

the argument over foreign aid goes on and on

Hypernyms ("argument" is a kind of...):

discussion; give-and-take; word (an exchange of views on some topic)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "argument"):

logomachy (argument about words or the meaning of words)

Derivation:

argue (present reasons and arguments)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play or movie

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

argument; literary argument

Context example:

the editor added the argument to the poem

Hypernyms ("argument" is a kind of...):

sum-up; summary (a brief statement that presents the main points in a concise form)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(computer science) a reference or value that is passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command, or program

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

argument; parameter

Hypernyms ("argument" is a kind of...):

value (a numerical quantity measured or assigned or computed)

address; computer address; reference ((computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A variable in a logical or mathematical expression whose value determines the dependent variable; if f(x)=y, x is the independent variable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("argument" is a kind of...):

variable; variable quantity (a quantity that can assume any of a set of values)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

argument; argumentation; line; line of reasoning; logical argument

Context example:

I can't follow your line of reasoning

Hypernyms ("argument" is a kind of...):

abstract thought; logical thinking; reasoning (thinking that is coherent and logical)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "argument"):

casuistry (argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading)

policy (a line of argument rationalizing the course of action of a government)

line of inquiry; line of questioning (an ordering of questions so as to develop a particular argument)

 Context examples 

You see, I am willing to admit, for the sake of the argument, that matter exists; and what I am about to do is to efface you by your own argument.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It would be tedious to repeat his arguments, and my contradictions.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

This may bring up an unexpected argument or discussion with someone you are very close to in love or business.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He or she may be eager to have an argument, and be unwilling to work with caregivers to make the situation better.

(Agitation, NCI Dictionary)

Also, a variable of Boolean type or a function with Boolean arguments or result.

(Boolean, NCI Thesaurus)

One who defends, vindicates, or espouses a cause, by argument.

(Advocate, NCI Thesaurus)

The process of creating a summary of the main points of an article, argument, or theory.

(Abstracting, NCI Thesaurus)

Not finding the variant in all groups despite large numbers of participants in each group strengthens the argument that findings from one population cannot always be generalized to others.

(Study of multiethnic genomes identifies 27 genetic variants associated with disease, National Institutes of Health)

An Eley’s No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This, of course, if we could definitely prove it, would turn Lestrade’s argument against himself, for who would steal a thing if he knew that he would shortly inherit it?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)