# controversial

Pronunciation: say "kon-truh-VUR-shuhl" US /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, UK /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/, AUS /ˌkɔn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/

## Adjective

1. Giving rise to strong public disagreement or dispute, or likely to do so.
   - Simple: Causing strong disagreement, because people hold very different opinions about it.
   - _The senator's controversial remarks dominated the news cycle for a week._
   - _Critics called the film's ending controversial, splitting audiences down the middle._
2. Inclined to engage in dispute; given to argument and ready to challenge others.
   - Simple: Liking to argue with people and quick to start a dispute.
   - _The committee's most controversial member objected to nearly every proposal._
   - _A controversial debater by temperament, she relished every chance to argue a point._

## Noun

3. A person, matter, or argument that gives rise to controversy. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person or thing that causes strong disagreement among people.
   - _He was reckoned a controversial, his every sermon stirring fresh dispute._
   - _The succession remained the chief controversial among the council's members._

## Origin

Formed from Latin "controversia" ("controversy") with the suffix "-al".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/controversial (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).