controversial

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/ UK /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/ See IPA manual

adj noun Freq #10617

Meanings

1

adj
Causing strong public disagreement or argument.

The death penalty is a highly controversial issue.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · causing strong public... disputed divisive

Etymology

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

contrōversiālis Latin

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Topics

People & Society

# controversial

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl
**IPA (UK):** ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl
**Frequency rank:** 10617

## Meanings
1. Causing strong public disagreement or argument.

## Examples
- The death penalty is a highly controversial issue.

## Synonyms
- contentious
- contested

## Antonyms
- incontrovertible
- non-controversial
- noncontroversial
- uncontroversial

## Derived Forms
- controversialism
- controversialize
- controversially
- controversialness
- postcontroversial
- precontroversial

## Related Forms
- controversialist
- controversiality
- controversy
- controvert
- controverter
- controvertible

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: contrōversiālis

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

## AI Etymology
controversial is an adjective and noun. It is from Latin contrōversiālis, from contrōversia + -ālis. By surface analysis, controversy + -al. Historical forms in the chain include contrōversiālis (Latin). Current senses include causing strong public disagreement or argument. Derived forms include controversialism, controversialize, controversially, controversialness, and postcontroversial. Related words include controversialist, controversiality, controversy, and controvert.

## Topics
- People & Society

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controversial

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