Argument vs. Controversy — What's the Difference?

A reason or set of reasons presented to support or oppose an idea.

A prolonged public dispute or debate.

A summary of the subject matter of a book or article.

A disagreement, especially one that's widespread or long-lasting.

A mathematical or logical sequence leading to a conclusion.

A discussion marked by opposing views.

In logic and philosophy, an argument is a series of statements (in a natural language), called the premises or premisses (both spellings are acceptable), intended to determine the degree of truth of another statement, the conclusion. The logical form of an argument in a natural language can be represented in a symbolic formal language, and independently of natural language formally defined "arguments" can be made in math and computer science.

Disputation concerning a matter of opinion.

An exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one

Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction".

A reason or set of reasons given in support of an idea, action or theory

Prolonged public disagreement or heated discussion

An independent variable associated with a function or proposition and determining its value. For example, in the expression y = F(x₁, x₂), the arguments of the function F are x₁ and x₂, and the value is y.

A dispute, especially a public one, between sides holding opposing views.

Any of the noun phrases in a clause that are related directly to the verb, typically the subject, direct object, and indirect object.

The act or practice of engaging in such disputes

A summary of the subject matter of a book.

A debate or discussion of opposing opinions; (generally) strife.

A discussion in which the parties involved express disagreement with one another; a debate

Contention; dispute; debate; discussion; agitation of contrary opinions.

An angry discussion involving disagreement among the participants; a quarrel

Quarrel; strife; cause of variance; difference.

(Archaic) A reason or matter for dispute or contention

A suit in law or equity; a question of right.

A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood

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

A fact or statement put forth as proof or evidence; a reason

A contentious topic or issue.

A set of statements in which one follows logically as a conclusion from the others.

A summary or short statement of the plot or subject of a literary work.

A topic; a subject

(Logic) The minor premise in a syllogism.

The independent variable of a function.

The angle of a complex number measured from the positive horizontal axis.

(Computers) A value used to evaluate a procedure or subroutine.

(Linguistics) A word, phrase, or clause in a semantic relation with a word or phrase and that helps complete the meaning of that word or phrase, such as a noun phrase that is the object of a verb. The clause that we go is an argument of the verb suggest in the sentence I suggest that we go.

A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason.

A series of propositions organized so that the final proposition is a conclusion which is intended to follow logically from the preceding propositions, which function as premises.

(countable) A process of reasoning; argumentation.

(countable) An abstract or summary of the content of a literary work such as a book, a poem or a major section such as a chapter, included in the work before the content itself; (figuratively) the contents themselves.

(countable) A verbal dispute; a quarrel.

Any dispute, altercation, or collision.

Any of the phrases that bears a syntactic connection to the verb of a clause.

The independent variable of a function.

The phase of a complex number.

A quantity on which the calculation of another quantity depends.

A value, or a reference to a value, passed to a function.

A parameter at a function call; an actual parameter, as opposed to a formal parameter.

A matter in question; a business in hand.

The subject matter of an artistic representation, discourse, or writing; a theme or topic.

Evidence, proof; (countable) an item of such evidence or proof.

To put forward as an argument; to argue.

To adduce evidence, to provide proof.

Proof; evidence.

A reason or reasons offered in proof, to induce belief, or convince the mind; reasoning expressed in words; as, an argument about, concerning, or regarding a proposition, for or in favor of it, or against it.

A process of reasoning, or a controversy made up of rational proofs; argumentation; discussion; disputation.

The subject matter of a discourse, writing, or artistic representation; theme or topic; also, an abstract or summary, as of the contents of a book, chapter, poem.

Matter for question; business in hand.

The quantity on which another quantity in a table depends; as, the altitude is the argument of the refraction.

The independent variable upon whose value that of a function depends.

To make an argument; to argue.

A fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true;

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

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

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

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

A discussion where differing views are expressed.

A heated exchange of opposing views.

Yes, if an argument isn't resolved or garners wide attention, it can evolve into a controversy.

An argument usually has opposing viewpoints, while a discussion may be more exploratory without conflict.

Rarely. Controversies typically involve multiple facets and arguments before resolution.

An argument is a discussion or debate presenting opposing viewpoints.

No, controversy can lead to public awareness and constructive solutions, though it often indicates disagreement.

To maintain harmony, avoid stress, or because they believe the issue isn't significant enough.

Yes, arguments can be expressed through non-verbal means like writing or even body language.

A topic becomes controversial when it evokes strong, differing opinions from various groups.

No, while all controversies involve argumentation, not all arguments lead to controversies.