Controversialists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who actively participate in or provoke disputed topics or arguments
2. Persons known for engaging in debates that cause disagreement or public dispute
3. People who stimulate or involve themselves in conflicts through contentious discussion

Etymology: "Controversialist" is simply "controversial" with the agent suffix "-ist" added, meaning a person who habitually takes part in controversy. The suffix has a long pedigree: it passed into Latin from Greek "-istēs", where it was attached to verb stems to name a practitioner, and it reached English through Old French "-iste" and Middle English "-ist". "Controversial" itself comes from Latin "controversia", a dispute, built from "contra" (against) and "versia" (turning), the same root that gives "verse" and "version". The plural form "controversialists" simply adds "-s" to the singular noun. Its meaning follows directly from its parts: people who make a practice of stirring up arguments, rather than simply taking a side in one.

Synonyms: debaters, arguers, disputants, polemists, opponents

Antonyms: peacemakers, conciliators, mediators