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

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

1. controversial(adj)

   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. controversial(Adjective)

   Arousing controversyu2014a debate or discussion of opposing opinions.

   Etymology: From controversia + -al; see controversy.

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

1. Controversial(adj)

   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. Lamar Alexander:

   Filibustering to death the Gorsuch nomination -- or any presidential nomination, for that matter -- flies in the face of 230 years of Senate tradition, throughout the Senate's history, approval of even the most controversial presidential nominations has required only a majority vote.

2. Carrie Severino:

   This President has been brazen about his willingness to take action that is normally reserved to Congress, 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.

3. Costas Panagopoulos:

   To the extent that Giuliani will be involved in the game moving forward, it will be as a commentator or an analyst, in order to do that successfully these days, it helps to be controversial, sometimes inflammatory. I am not surprised that he has become increasingly forceful in his comments in the media. He is convinced that will help him.

4. Richard Milhous Nixon:

   If an individual wants to be a leader and isn't controversial, that means he never stood for anything.

5. George Peery:

   He has been associated with the most visible, and the most controversial, issues — rather than the legislature where all of this stuff got passed.

Images & Illustrations of controversial

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