argue, controversy, dispute, debate和 altercate的区别

argue  v
[I, Ipr] ~ (with sb) (about/over sth) express an opposite opinion; exchange angry words; quarrel 争论; 争辩; 争吵: The couple next door are always arguing. 邻居的夫妇总吵架. * Don't argue with your mother. 不要和母亲争辩. * We argued with the waiter about the price of the meal. 我们跟服务员争执那顿饭的价钱.
[I, Ipr, Tf] ~ (for/against sth) give reasons for or against sth, esp with the aim of persuading sb 说理; 争辩; 辩论: He argues convincingly. 他的辩解很有说服力. * argue for the right to strike 为争取罢工权利而辩论 * I argued that we needed a larger office. 我据理力争我们需要大些的办公室.
[Tn] (fml 文) discuss (sth); debate 讨论; 辩论: The lawyers argued the case for hours. 律师们对那个案件辩论了几小时.
(idm 习语),argue the `toss say that one disagrees about a decision反对某项决定: Let's not argue the toss we have to accept his choice. 我们不必争论已经决定的事--只好听他的.
(phr v) argue sb into/out of doing sth persuade sb to do/not to do sth by giving reasons 说服、 劝说某人做[不做]某事: They argued him into withdrawing his complaint. 他们说服他撤回了投诉.
> arguable  adj
1 that can be argued or asserted 可论证的; 可断言的: It is arguable that we would be just as efficient with fewer staff. 我们的职员少一些也能发挥同样效率, 这是言之成理的.
2 not certain; questionable 可疑的; 有问题的: This account contains many arguable statements. 这种说法含有很多疑点. arguably / -əblɪ; -əblɪ/ adv one can argue(2) that 可争辩地; 按理; 按说: John sings very well though Peter is arguably the better actor. 约翰唱得很好, 不过按理说彼得演得更好.

controversy  n [U, C] ~ (about/over sth) public discussion or argument, often rather angry, about sth which many people disagree with 公开辩论; 论战: The appointment of the new director aroused a lot of controversy, ie Many people publicly disagreed with it. 新负责人的任命引起了激烈的争论. * a bitter controversy about/over the siting of the new airport 对新机场选址问题的剧烈争论.
dispute 1  n
[U] argument; debate 争论; 辩论: There has been much dispute over the question of legalized abortion. 堕胎合法化问题引起了许多争论. * It is a matter of dispute (whether they did the right thing). （他们做得对还是不对,）这是有争议之处. * Their conclusions are open to dispute. 他们的结论可供商榷.
[C] quarrel; controversy 争吵; 争论; 辩论: religious, political, industrial, etc disputes 宗教上的争论、 政治上的辩论、 劳资纠纷 * a border dispute that could easily become a war 容易引发战争的边界争端.
(idm 习语) beyond/past di`spute certain 无可争辩的; 确定无疑的: Her courage is beyond all dispute. 她的勇气是无可置疑的. in di`spute that can be or is being argued about 可以争论; 在争议中: The exact cause of the accident is still in dispute. 事故的真正起因仍有争议. * Your sincerity is not in dispute. 你的诚恳是无可置辩的. in dispute (with sb) involved in a (usu industrial) dispute 涉及（通常为劳资关系上的）纠纷: We're in dispute (with the management) about overtime rates. 我们正（与资方）交涉加班费问题. without di`spute certainly 毫无疑义; 无争论余地: He is without dispute the better player. 他无疑是较优秀的选手.

dispute 2   v
[I, Ipr] ~ (with sb) argue; debate 争论; 辩论: Some people love to dispute (with everyone). 有些人好（与人）争论.
(a) [Tn, Tw] argue about (sth) 争论（某事物）: They disputed at great length what they should do. 他们对应该做什麽这一问题进行了长时间的争论. (b) [Tn] question the truth or validity of (sth) 对（某事物）的真实性或有效性提出质询: dispute a statement, claim, decision, etc 对某项陈述、 要求、 决定等提出质疑 * The election result was disputed. 有人对选举的结果提出了异议.
[Tn] try to stop sb winning (sth) from one; fight for (sth) 扞卫（某事物）; 争夺（某物）: Our soldiers disputed every inch of ground. 我方战士寸土必争.


debate  n [C, U] (a) formal argument or discussion of a question, eg at a public meeting or in Parliament, with two or more opposing speakers, and often ending in a vote （正式的）辩论, 讨论（如在公众集会或议会中, 常以表决结束）: After a long debate, the House of Commons approved the bill. 经过长时间的辩论, 下议院通过了议案. * to open the debate, ie be the first to speak 开始辩论（第一个发言） * the motion under debate, ie being discussed 在辩论中的动议. (b) argument or discussion in general （一般性的）辩论, 讨论: After much debate, we decided to move to Oxford. 我们经充分讨论决定迁往牛津. * We had long debates at college about politics. 我们上大学时曾长时间地辩论政治问题. * Her resignation caused much public debate. 她辞职一事引起群众议论纷纷.
> debate v
[I, Ipr, Tn, Tw, Tg] ~ (about sth) have a debate(2) about (sth); discuss (sth) 对（某事）进行辩论; 讨论（某事）: What are they debating (about)? 他们在辩论什麽? * We're just debating what to do next. 我们正讨论下一步该做什麽事. * They debated closing the factory. 他们争论是否关闭工厂.
[Tn, Tw, Tg] think (sth) over in order to decide 考虑（某事物）以决定: I debated it for a while, then decided not to go. 我反覆考虑后决定不去. * I'm debating where to go on holiday. 我在琢磨到何处度假. * He debated buying a new car, but didn't in the end. 他思量很久是否买辆新汽车, 但最后还是没买. debater n person who debates (debate 1) 辩论的人.

altercate  v.intr.（不及物动词）  al.ter.cat.ed,al.ter.cat.ing,al.ter.cates
To argue or dispute vehemently; wrangle.
争论，激烈争吵；吵架
argue,quarrel,debate,dispute,discuss,reason 
这些动词均含“辩论，争论，说理”之意。
argue → 指提出理由或证据为自己或自己一方的看法或立场辩护，着重说理、论证和企图说服。
quarrel → 指两人之间或两个团体之间不友好的、吵吵嚷嚷地大声争论某事，尤指“吵嘴、吵架”。
debate → 侧重指意见等对立的双方之间正式或公开的争辩。
dispute → 侧重对分歧进行激烈或热烈的争论或争辩，带一定感情色彩，常隐含“各持已见”或“争论不休”意味。
discuss → 最常用词，指就某一或某些问题表明观点、看法等，以便统一认识，解决问题。
reason → 指据理力争以说服对方或求得对问题作更深入的研究。
controversy,argument,conflict,debate,dispute,quarrel,strife 
这组名词均有“争执、不和”之意。
controversy → 侧重指深刻的意见分歧，多指对引起广泛兴趣或非常重要的问题的辨论。
argument → 指辩论双方均以事实或理由来说服对方的辨论。
conflict → 指双方坚持已见、互不妥协，怀有敌意的争论，多暗示分歧极为严重，有时用语言无法解决，只得诉诸武力。
debate → 通常指经过仔细组织和计划的个人或团体之间的辩论。
dispute → 普通用词，侧重指长时间，言词激烈，针锋相对的争辩。
quarrel → 普通用词，既可指言词激烈的争吵，也可指温和的言词上的不和。
strife → 指因不可缓和的矛盾而引起的争吵或斗殴。