Definitions for controversial
ˌkɒn trəˈvɜr ʃəl, -si əlcon·tro·ver·sial

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. controversialadjective

   marked by or capable of arousing controversy

   "the issue of the death penalty is highly controversial"; "Rushdie's controversial book"; "a controversial decision on affirmative action"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. controversialadjective

   Arousing controversyu2014a debate or discussion of opposing opinions.

   Etymology: From controversia + -al; see controversy.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Controversialadjective

   relating to, or consisting of, controversy; disputatious; polemical; as, controversial divinity

   Etymology: [Cf. LL. controversialis.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'controversial' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4266

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'controversial' in Adjectives Frequency: #571

How to pronounce controversial?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say controversial in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of controversial in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of controversial in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of controversial in a Sentence

1. Frank Gorenc:

   This is not just a Pacific problem; it is as significant in Europe as it is anywhere else on the planet, i don't think it's controversial to say they've closed the gap in capability.

2. Cecil Andrus:

   I suspect they know what they are planning will be very controversial and, for that reason, want to keep it secret.

3. Carrie Severino:

   The fact that the Court added the constitutional question means that some justices recognized that this is not a run of the mill act of prosecutorial discretion, but a novel and controversial power grab.

4. Ran Zwigenberg:

   The problem is the controversy surrounding the Olympics, and it’s being very politicized, and that’s something that a lot of people in Hiroshima don’t like. They don’t like to have the image of their city wedded to this kind of controversial visit.

5. Supreme Court:

   Today's decision reflects a significant step away from the idea of independent executive branch agencies, although the court limited its holding to whether a single director of The CFPB could be protected from being fired by the President for any reason, its analysis makes clear that a majority of the current Justices are skeptical of any independence within the executive branch -- which could open the door to even broader and more significant challenges to older -- and less controversial -- agencies going forward.

Images & Illustrations of controversial

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