[di.a.lec.tic] n [ME dialetik, fr. MF dialetique, fr. L dialectica, fr. Gk dialektike, fr. fem. of dialektikos of conversation, fr. dialektos] (14c) 1: logic 1a(1)
2. a: discussion and reasoning by dialogue as a method of intellectual investigation; specif: the Socratic techniques of exposing false beliefs and eliciting truth b: the Platonic investigation of the eternal ideas
3: the logic of fallacy
4. a: the Hegelian process of change in which a concept or its realization passes over into and is preserved and fulfilled by its opposite; also: the critical investigation of this process b (1) usu pl but sing or pl in constr: development through the stages of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis in accordance with the laws of dialectical materialism (2): the investigation of this process (3): the theoretical application of this process esp. in the social sciences
5. usu pl but sing or pl in constr a: any systematic reasoning, exposition, or argument that juxtaposes opposed or contradictory ideas and usu. seeks to resolve their conflict b: an intellectual exchange of ideas
6: the dialectical tension or opposition between two interacting forces or elements