argument

[ahr-gyuh-muh nt] /ˈɑr gyə mənt/
noun
1.
an oral disagreement; verbal opposition; contention; altercation:
a violent argument.
2.
a discussion involving differing points of view; debate:
They were deeply involved in an argument about inflation.
3.
a process of reasoning; series of reasons:
I couldn't follow his argument.
4.
a statement, reason, or fact for or against a point:
This is a strong argument in favor of her theory.
5.
an address or composition intended to convince or persuade; persuasive discourse.
6.
subject matter; theme:
The central argument of his paper was presented clearly.
7.
an abstract or summary of the major points in a work of prose or poetry, or of sections of such a work.
8.
Mathematics.
  1. an independent variable of a function.
  2. Also called amplitude. the angle made by a given vector with the reference axis.
  3. the angle corresponding to a point representing a given complex number in polar coordinates.
    Compare principal argument.
9.
Computers. a variable in a program, to which a value will be assigned when the program is run: often given in parentheses following a function name and used to calculate the function.
10.
Obsolete.
  1. evidence or proof.
  2. a matter of contention.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English (< Old French) < Latin argūmentum. See argue, -ment
Related forms
reargument, noun
Synonyms
1. Argument, controversy, dispute imply the expression of opinions for and against some idea. An argument usually arises from a disagreement between two persons, each of whom advances facts supporting his or her own point of view. A controversy or a dispute may involve two or more persons. A dispute is an oral contention, usually brief, and often of a heated, angry, or undignified character: a violent dispute over a purchase. A controversy is an oral or written expression of contrary opinions, and may be dignified and of some duration: a political controversy.
Examples from the web for argument
  • You can not complete an argument without illogical reasoning.
  • Almost as unsatisfying is any argument that has been written out and is read off to us, page after page.
  • It is not clear how compelling that argument is to voters.
  • I'm sympathetic to the expediency argument, but I'm also impatient with it.
  • It's time for that argument to be made.
  • Oral arguments are adjourned, and people are filing out of the courtroom.
  • The lawyer can overcome the supposed hardship of the time limit by the care with which he prepares his argument to fit the limit.
  • This is an argument for more research, not less.
  • There are some good arguments here.
  • But the piling of argument on argument is brutal.
British Dictionary definitions for argument

argument

/ˈɑːɡjʊmənt/
noun
1.
a quarrel; altercation
2.
a discussion in which reasons are put forward in support of and against a proposition, proposal, or case; debate: the argument on birth control will never be concluded
3.
(sometimes pl) a point or series of reasons presented to support or oppose a proposition
4.
a summary of the plot or subject of a book, etc
5.
(logic)
  1. a process of deductive or inductive reasoning that purports to show its conclusion to be true
  2. formally, a sequence of statements one of which is the conclusion and the remainder the premises
6.
(logic) an obsolete name for the middle term of a syllogism
7.
(maths)
  1. an element to which an operation, function, predicate, etc, applies, esp the independent variable of a function
  2. the amplitude of a complex number
Word Origin and History for argument
n.

early 14c., "statements and reasoning in support of a proposition," from Old French arguement "reasoning, opinion; accusation, charge" (13c.), from Latin argumentum "evidence, ground, support, proof; a logical argument," from arguere "to argue" (see argue). Sense passed through "subject of contention" to "a quarrel," a sense formerly attached to argumentation.

argument in Technology

programming
(Or "arg") A value or reference passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command or program, by the caller. For example, in the function definition
square(x) = x * x
x is the formal argument or "parameter", and in the call
y = square(3+4)
3+4 is the actual argument. This will execute the function square with x having the value 7 and return the result 49.
There are many different conventions for passing arguments to functions and procedures including call-by-value, call-by-name, call-by-reference, call-by-need. These affect whether the value of the argument is computed by the caller or the callee (the function) and whether the callee can modify the value of the argument as seen by the caller (if it is a variable).
Arguments to functions are usually, following mathematical notation, written in parentheses after the function name, separated by commas (but see curried function). Arguments to a program are usually given after the command name, separated by spaces, e.g.:
cat myfile yourfile hisfile
Here "cat" is the command and "myfile", "yourfile", and "hisfile" are the arguments.
(2006-05-27)

Idioms and Phrases with argument

argument

see under pick a quarrel