Argumentation: English Vocabulary List

to officially resolve a disagreement between people

"He will arbitrate the issue."

"The neutral third party was called in to arbitrate the dispute between the two companies and help them reach an agreement."

to prove something or someone wrong or false through evidence or argumentation

"He confuted the opposing argument easily."

"The brilliant scientist was able to confute the long held theory with a simple elegant experiment that clearly demonstrated its fundamental flaws."

to insert a comment, remark, or question abruptly into a conversation

"He will interject."

"During the heated debate, one participant would frequently interject with unrelated personal anecdotes."

to state one's opinion in such a manner that shows one believes to be the only person to fully know it and be unarguably correct

"He pontificates about politics constantly."

"The professor tends to pontificate about his political views during class even though his students are only there to learn about history."

to be undecided and not know what opinion, idea, or course of action to stick to

"Do not vacillate between choices."

"The indecisive politician continued to vacillate between different policy options and could not commit to a clear course of action."

(of an argument) directed against a person and not their point of view

"He made an ad hominem attack."

"He made an ad hominem attack and insulted his opponent instead of discussing the issues."

too confident or proud in expressing oneself, in a way that is annoying to others

"The bumptious man annoyed everyone."

"The bumptious man annoyed everyone with his loud voice and arrogant opinions about everything."

believing things easily even without much evidence that leads to being easy to deceive

"She is credulous and believes anything."

"She is credulous and believes every advertisement she sees without questioning whether it is true or not."

referring to the method of argumentation or discourse that involves the exchange of opposing ideas or viewpoints in order to reach a deeper understanding or resolution

"The argument is dialectical."

"The argument is dialectical and involves a thesis an antithesis and then a synthesis of both ideas."

not expressing one's definite opinion or intention clearly, especially in an argument

"His answer was non-committal."

"His answer was non committal and he refused to say whether he would attend the meeting or not."

expressing feelings or opinions, loudly and forcefully

"The protest was vociferous."

"The vociferous protesters shouted slogans outside the government building and their loud chants could be heard from several blocks away."

a public expression or discussion of opinions

"The controversial show received its first airing last night."

"The public airing of the scandal caused great embarrassment for the company last month."

the process or action of logical reasoning for persuading others

"His argumentation was very logical."

"His argumentation was logical and persuasive making it difficult for anyone to refute his claims."

the practice of unsound reasoning and falsely arguing questions in a clever way

"The lawyer's casuistry confused the jury."

"His sophisticated casuistry tried to justify the unethical behavior with clever arguments."

an agreement reached by all members of a group

"The team reached a consensus on the new project plan."

"A consensus is a general agreement reached by a group after considering all opinions"

the most important part of something on which its existence, success, or truth depends

"Honesty is the cornerstone."

"Honesty and integrity are the cornerstone of any successful and trustworthy relationship."

the state in which one holds two opposing ideas at the same time

"The novel 1984 introduced the concept of doublethink."

"Doublethink is used by some politicians to hold contradictory beliefs at the same time."

the ability to deliver a clear and strong message

"Her natural eloquence won her every debate at the university."

"His eloquence captivated the entire audience during the speech."

a supporter of a theory, belief, idea, etc. who tries to persuade others that it is true or good in order to gain their support

"She is a theory exponent."

"He is a leading exponent of modern economic theory in the academic world."

unwillingness to agree about something or change one's views

"The union's intransigence prevented a deal."

"His intransigence caused the negotiations to fail completely last month."

a biased or subjective angle in presenting information, often reflecting personal or ideological viewpoints

"The article had a political slant."

"The newspaper gave a different slant to the same political story."

a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion that logically follows from them

"The logic teacher explained the classical syllogism."

"The logical syllogism helped prove the argument correctly in the philosophy class."

used humorously to show that someone has made a good point in an argument or discussion

"Touche! You made a point."

"When she pointed out the flaw in his logic, he smiled and said 'touche' because he knew she was right."

to involve someone in an argument, conflict, or complex situation

"Do not embroil me in your problems."

"The innocent man was unwillingly embroiled in the scandal because his name was mentioned by a witness who had confused him with someone else."

to publicly state that something is the case

"He avowed his love for her publicly."

"The young man avowed his love for her in front of all their friends and family at the wedding reception."

to express if one is for or against an idea or arguement

"He came out for it."

"The famous actor decided to come out publicly about his struggles with depression to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues."

to estimate something using past experiences or known data

"We can extrapolate future trends from data."

"From the small amount of data we have it is difficult to extrapolate the final results accurately."

to express one's opinion

"I opine it is good."

"The professor was asked to opine on the current state of artificial intelligence research."

to propose or assume something as true or factual, serving as the foundation for further reasoning or argumentation

"The theory posits the existence of dark matter."

"The scientist posits that there may be other intelligent life forms in the universe based on statistical probability."

to back up or form the basis of an argument by providing support

"Evidence underpins his scientific theory."

"The basic principles of justice and equality underpin the entire legal system and ensure that all citizens are treated fairly."

acting as a conversation medium between two groups of people so they can create an argument

"The intermediary started the argument."

"He acted as an intermediary between the two companies and helped them reach an agreement."

involving rational arguments to support or oppose an opinion, usually the opposite of others'

"His polemic arguments were strong."

"The article is a polemic and attacks the other side's position without offering any reasonable solutions."

a situation in which a theory or argument cannot be true because two or more parts of it are contradictory

"The philosopher's argument ended in aporia."

"The philosophical aporia left the students thinking deeply about the question for a long time."

someone whose opinion changes in accordance with the situation

"He is a chameleon."

"He is a political chameleon who changes his position according to the situation."

the art or practice of giving a speech or reciting a poem with expression and gestures, especially as an exercise for public speaking or performance

"His dramatic declamation impressed the audience."

"The passionate declamation moved the audience to tears during the public speech."

a limitation on freedom of speech or a restriction on dissemination of information

"The gag silenced the speaker."

"The court issued a political gag order to prevent the media from reporting the case."

an individual who thinks and behaves differently and independently

"The maverick politician often voted against his own party."

"The political maverick always votes against his own party when he disagrees."