Controversial

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/

Definitions

1. Causing or likely to cause disagreement and public debate due to differing opinions or perspectives
2. Provoking disputes or debates among people because of varying viewpoints or beliefs
3. Leading to significant disagreement and discussion among individuals owing to diverse opinions or interpretations

Etymology: "Controversial" comes from Latin "controversialis," which was built on "controversia," a word for a dispute or debate. That noun was itself formed from "contra" ("against") and "versus," the past participle of "vertere" ("to turn"), so the core image is of two sides turned against each other. The Latin base "controversia" gave English "controversy," and "controversial" was formed by adding the suffix "-al," meaning "relating to," giving the sense of something pertaining to such a dispute. The adjective's meaning has stayed close to its origin: a topic is controversial when it turns people toward opposing positions. The word's origin is plain and transparent, with no dramatic shift in sense to report, so the most useful thing to know is how neatly its parts still show what it means.

Synonyms: debatable, contentious, disputed, polarizing, divisive

Antonyms: uncontroversial, accepted, settled, agreed, harmonious