INDEX:
1. to have a different opinion from someone else
2. to disagree strongly with someone
3. when members of a group disagree with each other
4. when people disagree
5. to cause disagreement
6. causing disagreement
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ AGREE
see also
↑ ARGUE
↑ OPINION
↑ CRITICIZE
↑ REJECT
◆◆◆
1. to have a different opinion from someone else
▷ disagree /ˌdɪsəˈgriː/ [intransitive verb not in progressive]
to have a different opinion about something from someone else :
▪ A lot of people think that capitalism is the only system that works, but I disagree.
disagree with
▪ I showed my article to the editor. He disagreed with almost everything I’d written.
disagree about
▪ Throughout their marriage my parents disagreed about whether to stay in their hometown or not.
disagree that
▪ The company’s lawyers disagreed that the complaint was a criminal matter.
strongly disagree
▪ The court decision represents an issue on which the president and the Justice Department strongly disagree.
▷ not agree /nɒt əˈgriː/ [verb phrase]
to disagree with someone about a subject or about what to do :
▪ He thinks we’d have a better chance of finding work if we moved house, but I don’t agree.
not agree with
▪ I’d never vote for Davies. He has too many policies I don’t agree with.
not agree on/about
▪ Before long, they realized that they couldn’t agree about anything.
▪ We couldn’t agree on what to do in the afternoon, so we just stayed at home.
not agree that
▪ The doctor did not agree that the only solution was to operate.
▷ not see eye to eye /nɒt siː ˌaɪ tʊ ˈaɪ/ [verb phrase]
if two people do not see eye to eye, they have very different opinions and ideas, so that it is difficult for them to be friends or to work together :
not see eye to eye on/about
▪ Unfortunately, Julie and I don’t see eye to eye on money matters.
not see eye to eye with
▪ Donato doesn’t see eye to eye with several of the other committee members.
▷ take issue with /teɪk ˈɪʃuː wɪð/ [verb phrase] formal
to disagree strongly with someone about something they have said or done, and to argue with them about it :
take issue with somebody over something
▪ I took issue with Meeker over the way he was running the company.
▷ differ /ˈdɪfəʳ/ [intransitive verb] especially written
if a group of people differ about something, they have a range of different opinions on it :
differ about/over
▪ Critics differed about the importance of Osborne’s new play.
▪ All politicians agree that inflation must be beaten but they differ over methods of achieving this.
differ widely
differ a lot
▪ Scholars differ widely about when the two manuscripts were written.
▷ agree to disagree also agree to differ British /əˌgriː tə ˌdɪsəˈgriː, əˌgriː tə ˈdɪfəʳ/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
to stop arguing with someone about something and accept that they cannot be persuaded to agree with you :
▪ The two sides had agreed to differ.
▪ After two days, the negotiators had done little more than agree to disagree.
▷ dissent /dɪˈsent/ [intransitive verb] formal
to say publicly that you disagree with an official opinion or belief, or one that is accepted by most people :
▪ The decision was supported by almost everyone. Baldwin was the only one to dissent.
dissent from
▪ No one dared dissent from the official party line.
dissenting voices
people who say they disagree
▪ Blair would be wise to listen to some of the dissenting voices in his party.
2. to disagree strongly with someone
▷ be at loggerheads /biː ət ˈlɒgəʳhedzǁ-ˈlɔːg-/ [verb phrase]
if two people or groups are at loggerheads, they strongly disagree with each other and argue, usually about how to deal with a problem or decision :
▪ As a result of the strike, neighbours and even families were soon at loggerheads.
be at loggerheads over/about
▪ Congress and the President are still at loggerheads over how to balance the federal budget.
▷ be at odds /biː ət ˈɒdzǁ-ˈɑːdz/ [verb phrase]
to disagree with a person, organization, or way of thinking and be opposed to them - used especially in news reports :
be at odds with
▪ Britain and France were constantly at odds with each other throughout the negotiations.
be at odds over
▪ The two sides are still at odds over a pay increase for airline pilots.
▷ fall out /ˌfɔːl ˈaʊt/ [] British
to disagree strongly with someone and argue with them about it so that your good relationship with them is damaged :
▪ Jung and Freud fell out when Jung disagreed with some of Freud’s central theories.
fall out with
▪ Maria fell out with some of her colleagues and decided to look for a new job.
fall out (with somebody) over
▪ They fell out over some stupid little issue.
falling-out [singular noun]
▪ She was fired from the Broadway production after a highly-publicized falling-out with Weber.
▷ be in conflict with /biː ɪn ˈkɒnflɪkt wɪð ǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [verb phrase]
to strongly disagree with someone and to be continuously opposing them and arguing against their actions and intentions :
▪ Rather than be in continual conflict with his boss, Bruce moved to another job.
▪ Union leaders are again in conflict with management, this time over job losses.
▷ irreconcilable /ɪˌrekənˈsaɪləb ə l◂/ [adjective]
having or resulting from such completely different aims or opinions that agreement is impossible :
▪ The split in the Liberal party seems to be irreconcilable.
irreconcilable differences
▪ When irreconcilable differences exist between two people, it is better that they should separate.
irreconcilable with
▪ Both these ways of looking at the world are valid but utterly irreconcilable with each other.
▷ nonsense spoken also rubbish British spoken /ˈnɒns ə nsǁˈnɑːnsens, ˈrʌbɪʃ/
use this when you strongly disagree with something someone has said :
▪ ‘You always think you’re right!’ ‘Nonsense!’
3. when members of a group disagree with each other
▷ be divided/split /biː də̇ˈvaɪdə̇d, ˈsplɪt/ [verb phrase]
if a group of people is divided or split over something, some of them support one opinion and others support a completely different one :
be divided/split over/on
▪ The country’s leaders appear to be split on the question of tax cuts.
▪ Foreign aid agencies were split over whether to resume their operations in the troubled country.
▷ division /dɪˈvɪʒ ə n, dəˈvɪʒ ə n/ [countable/uncountable noun]
disagreement among the members of a group that causes it to separate into smaller groups, each with a different opinion :
▪ There are signs of growing division within the administration about the best strategy to adopt.
division over
▪ There was a deep division in the Republican Party over policy on Central America.
▷ split /splɪt/ [countable noun]
a serious disagreement that divides an organization or group into two smaller groups :
▪ There is great danger of a split in the party if a competent leader is not found soon.
split over
▪ There is a deep split in the country over the best way to move forward the peace process.
▷ rift /rɪft/ [countable noun]
a serious disagreement that divides a group for a very long time or prevents two people or organizations from continuing to live or work together :
▪ It took a good five years for the rift within the party to mend.
rift between
▪ The family arguments finally caused a rift between the mother and daughter that has not yet healed.
4. when people disagree
▷ disagreement /ˌdɪsəˈgriːmənt/ [countable/uncountable noun]
when people disagree with each other :
▪ The party is seriously split by internal rivalries and disagreements.
disagreement about/over
▪ Disagreement over who should produce the next album caused the band to split.
disagreement between/among
▪ There is some disagreement among medical experts about the best treatment for back pain.
▷ difference of opinion /ˌdɪf ə rəns əv əˈpɪnjən/ [noun phrase]
when people are unable to agree, especially about something important - use this as a way of avoiding more direct words like ‘argument’ and ‘disagreement’ :
difference of opinion about/over
▪ There were major differences of opinion over who should command the UN forces.
difference of opinion between/among
▪ There is a difference of opinion between the chairman and the board as to the best way to handle the takeover.
▷ controversy /ˈkɒntrəvɜːsi, kənˈtrɒvəsiǁˈkɑːntrəvɜːrsi/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a serious disagreement about a decision, plan, or action, that causes arguments for a long time in newspapers, on television etc :
▪ Controversy surrounds the TV show, which many consider to be racist, sexist, and homophobic.
controversy over
▪ There has been a huge controversy over where to put the city’s new sports stadium and who should build it.
▷ deadlock/stalemate /ˈdedlɒkǁ-lɑːk, ˈsteɪlmeɪt/ [singular noun]
a situation in which two groups disagree, and no agreement is possible because each group refuses to change its mind even slightly :
▪ Parents believe that pressure from city hall could force an end to the stalemate with the school board.
deadlock/stalemate over
▪ the political deadlock over allowable levels of greenhouse emissions
break the deadlock/stalemate
end the situation
▪ US negotiators met with representatives from both countries today in an attempt to break the deadlock.
▷ friction /ˈfrɪkʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
continuous disagreement and angry feelings or unfriendliness between people :
▪ Teenage children begin to assert their independence and this can lead to a good deal of friction in the family.
friction between
▪ There has been serious friction between the two army commanders.
▷ discord /ˈdɪskɔːʳd/ [uncountable noun] formal
strong disagreement that makes people feel unfriendly towards each other :
▪ Money is the single biggest cause of discord in marriage.
discord over
▪ There has always been discord over NATO’s role in world conflict.
▷ dissent /dɪˈsent/ [uncountable noun]
a refusal to accept an official opinion or an opinion that most people accept :
▪ During the Prime Minister’s speech there were several murmurs of open dissent from the crowd.
▪ Anti-war dissent was increasing by the time Nixon took office.
5. to cause disagreement
▷ give rise to/lead to/cause disagreement /gɪv ˌraɪz tuː, ˌliːd tuː, ˌkɔːz dɪsəˈgriːmənt/ [verb phrase]
▪ The issue of organ cloning has given rise to some disagreement among doctors.
▪ It was Garcia’s plan to redistribute land that caused the most disagreement.
▪ His speech is bound to lead to some disagreement, but I think most people will accept it.
▷ divide /dɪˈvaɪd, dəˈvaɪd/ [transitive verb]
to cause strong disagreement among a group of people so that they separate and form different groups with different opinions :
▪ The election campaign was bitter, dividing the city.
▪ The issue dividing the Church was the question of women priests.
▷ split /splɪt/ [transitive verb]
to cause strong disagreement among a group of people so that it is divided into two smaller groups - use this especially about political groups or political ideas :
▪ When the book appeared just before the end of the century, it almost split the feminist movement.
split the country/party etc down the middle
split it into two equal and opposing groups
▪ Feelings about the war split the country right down the middle.
6. causing disagreement
▷ controversial /ˌkɒntrəˈvɜːʳʃ ə l◂ ǁ ˌkɑːn-/ [adjective]
something that is controversial causes a lot of disagreement and angry argument, especially in the newspaper, on television etc :
▪ A recent government paper on education contains some controversial new ideas.
▪ Rossellini’s controversial film, ‘The Miracle’
▪ The decision to use the bomb remains the most controversial question of the Second World War.
▷ contentious /kənˈtenʃəs/ [adjective]
contentious issue/subject/problem etc
one that is likely to cause a lot of disagreement and argument :
▪ Abortion has always been a contentious subject.
▪ the contentious issue of arms sales to non-democratic countries
▷ bone of contention /ˌbəʊn əv kənˈtenʃ ə n/ [noun phrase]
a subject that people strongly disagree about for a long time and often argue about :
▪ The new tax on property is likely to become a serious bone of contention.
bone of contention between
▪ The way we manage money has been the only real bone of contention between us.