DEBATE


Meaning of DEBATE in English

I. noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a bitter debate/argument

The country now faces a bitter debate over the issue.

a matter for debate/negotiation/discussion (= something to be debated/negotiated etc )

How to solve the housing crisis is a matter for debate.

a subject of/for debate (= a subject people discuss and disagree about )

The reason for the increased risk of cancer is still a subject of debate.

a topic of discussion/debate

The issue is a topic of great debate in the record industry.

discuss/debate an issue

They met to discuss the issue of working conditions at the factory.

discuss/debate the merits of sth (= discuss whether or not something is a good idea )

They were discussing the merits of sending soldiers to the area.

furious debate/argument etc

There was a furious row over the proposals.

hotly debated/disputed/denied etc

The rumor has been hotly denied.

intense debate

Abortion has become the subject of intense debate.

lively debate

a lively debate on environmental issues

long-running dispute/battle/debate/feud etc

She was involved in a long-running legal battle.

long-standing debate/dispute etc

a long-standing feud between the two families

protracted negotiations/discussions/debate etc

the expense of a protracted legal battle

provoke debate/discussion/controversy

A new book criticising Hollywood has provoked fierce debate in the US.

reopen a case/question/debate etc

attempts to reopen the issue of the power station’s future

room for doubt/debate/argument etc

The evidence was clear, and there was little room for doubt.

spirited defence/debate/discussion etc

sterile argument/debate etc

the increasingly sterile debate on political reform

the ensuing battle/conflict/debate etc

In the ensuing fighting, two students were killed.

the focus of debate (= the thing which people are discussing )

The strike became the focus of debate in the media.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

considerable

Since the early 1960s, considerable debate has taken place in educational circles about the nature of history as a discipline.

While Eckstrom and Bronson both supported Grijalva for board chairman, there was considerable debate over that position among the three Demos.

There is, however, considerable debate as to the extent of change, and the reasons for it.

This will involve a large number of managers, some further external help, and considerable debate .

It also has been the subject of considerable historical debate .

A flexible engineering system had been introduced after considerable debate about the worthwhileness of the investment.

The salient causal processes in the creation of this deferential coalfield culture are the subject of considerable debate .

There is considerable debate over the most appropriate index of deprivation in particular situations.

current

Here we publish edited answers to some of the questions that are dominating the current political debate .

The fundamental issue in the current debate is whether environmental lead causes intellectual impairment or behavioural disturbances in children.

The current architectural debate has served to polarise popular opinion on modern architecture.

The current education debate also seems to be pushing for a return to traditional teaching methods.

Helfet: X100 stylist Current debate at Browns Lane has turned to the engine's power output.

The current debate in the packaging industry concerns the environmental effects of polyvinyl chloride.

In the current debate about Maastricht that policy is worthy of public and Government interest.

Full scale reform of official secrets legislation is still very much a topic of current debate .

fierce

Agreement was only reached following a fierce debate over the question of radioactive waste.

These questions set off fierce debate among cleaning experts.

This is a matter of fierce debate .

As the deadline approached a fierce debate raged in the United States.

The point is important, because conservation has recently become the subject of fierce debate .

A fierce debate arose among those trying to respond to the unfavourable economic and social effects of occupation.

But it was a long gestation, and a fierce debate still simmers about when and where the birth actually took place.

great

But in this great debate one point is being missed.

Now comes the great Medicaid debate .

So just where does Bernard stand on the great guitar solo debate ?

Like David and Goliath, two combatants have stood out from the academic armies engaged in the great demographic debate .

There has been a great deal of debate about the collection and use of these.

The great debates between Webster and Calhoun over slavery or the Gettysburg Address are simply impossible today.

In both Britain and the United States there has been a great deal of debate on the question of police accountability.

The great debate continues raging across the Sunshine State today.

heated

There was heated debate , but by the casting vote of the chairman we got our grant.

There was heated debate regarding the performance of number of ministers.

After fifteen months of heated debate , Billingham was abandoned.

Around such alternatives have views polarised in the heated debate over what the bill means for viewers.

The establishment of these schools outside the local authority system is a matter of heated political debate .

Indeed, this is an area of heated debate and it is quite difficult to tease out what is actually going on.

But even wind power, as heated debates at various public enquiries have revealed, is not without its critics.

This set off another heated debate .

intense

The Thatcher government's policy, effected in the Broadcasting Act of 1990, provoked intense debate .

His approach has incited even more intense debate among Democrats.

These have been the subject of intense debate , with religious preferences sometimes intruding.

How much money Simpson has is a matter of intense speculation and debate .

Yellowstone was threatened in 1883-4 by a plan to allow mining, but the park was saved after an intense debate .

The implications of this change have been the subject of intense debate since 1978.

After weeks of intense inter-party debate , clauses relating to privatization had been omitted.

lively

First, there must be a continuing and lively debate on ethical matters to ensure that ethical guidance is kept up-to-date.

As others may have different theories a genuine desire to prove a point of view leads to some lively debate .

The sections that follow represent an attempt to examine briefly some of the liveliest areas of debate .

The conference produced some lively debate and occasionally some widely differing viewpoints.

Needless to say, there is a continuous and lively debate about whose model is the best.

national

But a national debate on architecture at this level is as banal as it is unhelpful.

Whether or not the proposal is enacted, it may well set off a national debate .

What began as a squabble has polarised into a national debate .

The first state to publicly debate the issue of competition in public education, Minnesota triggered the national debate about choice.

But if this national facility is needed, there should be a national debate about its location.

Republicans, battered as they are in the public opinion polls, succeeded in dramatically transforming the terms of the national debate .

At this point the debate over the civil rights bill merged into a wider national debate concerning the legitimacy of reverse discrimination.

The abandonment of separate education, peculiarly enough, has occurred without any visible national debate .

ongoing

Driving the process was the ongoing debate over what might be the very best face Lisa could put forth.

An ongoing debate among those who ponder fashion has been whether dresses, suits and blouses can be considered art.

Those on the other side of this ongoing debate fare little better.

It also provides a way of showing economic research in action by sketching the ongoing debate .

open

This concept is open to debate , in that at least some Ediacaran fossils can be compared with known metazoans.

A resignation would force open the debate and make Dini keep his promise to quit, the Alliance argued.

The actual number of words that are necessary is open to debate .

In other words, they both have valid points, which is often the case in an open and honest debate .

Democracy and open debate were inseparable.

I am perfectly open to that debate .

How that expectation is calculated is certainly open to debate and criticism.

parliamentary

The parliamentary debate on the Report showed the Home Secretary adopting a two-pronged strategy in his response.

The parliamentary debate has been deferred.

They were subject to exhaustive parliamentary debate and, on occasion, referendum.

A parliamentary debate on the issue might be the one thing to tear the coalition apart.

An extraordinary parliamentary debate on July 22, however, endorsed the government's action.

political

The fabric of political debate and mobilization is both narrower and wider.

In past election years, differences over defense spending and foreign policy have been central to the political debate .

Britain's poor economic performance has been the dominant theme of political debate and economic discourse since the 1950s.

Sarah Benton discusses the paralysis of political debate on the Gulf in Britain.

Not so in the United States, where the very definition of human existence is the bread and butter of political debate .

Moreover, the reform process itself is part of the currency of political debate .

Despite some good acting from the ensemble cast, the characters slip into the stereotypes needed to establish the political debate .

presidential

And didn't it, in many ways, shape the whole presidential debate , raising causes that others feared to touch?

The proposed vice presidential debate would be held in Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 2.

The vice presidential debate is scheduled Oct. 2 in Hartford, Conn.

We reached an impasse over the presidential debate in October.

Dole, who is scheduled to speak last, decided to skip a presidential debate Saturday in South Carolina.

It is unclear whether Perot will be allowed to participate in the three scheduled presidential debates , as he did last time.

Funnier than the last presidential debate , but just barely.

The threat was made after Bailey helped lead a demonstration last month at Gammage Auditorium before the Republican presidential primary debate .

public

The agenda for public debate about defence issues is increasingly shaped by the activities of the Pentagon's biggest arms' suppliers.

His eloquence is often out of place in public debates , where precision and clarity are preferred to brilliant imagination.

Yet apart from a few scattered Tory voices, there is no public debate .

He enters freely into public debate from his close attention to most subjects, but he is no Orator.

Doubts over Bush's health, however, provoked renewed public debate over Quayle's competence.

The rule thus dampens the vigor and limits the variety of public debate .

The initial draft received many letters of comment from both camps and was followed up with a public debate in Glasgow.

Ability to use the written and spoken word in order to enter into public debate .

recent

The Opposition refused to answer that in the recent debate , and they have refused to answer it again today.

Both the current reforms and other possible changes which have been suggested in recent debates of the health service will be examined.

Electoral changes and their relationship to the political parties have been the subject of much recent analysis and debate .

This was demonstrated clearly in the recent debates in Parliament.

A recent ageism debate brought out some serious points.

Though essentially traditionalist, the work shows a critical spirit and a lively interest in recent discoveries and debates .

One area of recent debate concerns radon gas and its links to lung cancer.

All these examples are speculative, but all have surfaced in the recent debate on higher education.

■ VERB

conduct

The second part, Chapters 5-8, conducts the three debates catalogued in Figure 1.2.

contribute

It doesn't contribute to any debate .

This is far more intense a challenge than contributing to debates about strategy and design.

To contribute to this debate , Coopers &038; Lybrand formed a working party to survey and examine interim reporting.

Given the still exiguous literature of colour in art we can not expect to contribute to a running debate .

I understand that other hon. Members wish to contribute to the debate before it concludes.

We look forward to contributing to this debate .

We believe that social anthropologists can contribute more to the debates , in both empirical and theoretical terms.

engage

Instead, they say industry should engage in the debate to promote the life-saving benefits from testing treatments on animals.

Very few environmentalists would choose to engage in a debate about the extent to which they had either succeeded or sold out.

heat

He made parliament come alive with unscripted reports of the heated debates during the Suez debacle.

The continuing, and heated , judicial debate on racial preference indicates that the ultimate outcome of this controversy remains in doubt.

The capital gains tax controversy coincides with another heated national debate affecting white people.

Even the slightest interface aspect could trigger a heated debate , with adherents of opposing solutions arguing with near-Jesuitical intensity.

The issue was the subject of heated debate in a weekly morning caucus session.

Reginald Tufts, whose fighting ability was frequently the topic of heated debate , hit me until I cried.

Since 1980, a balanced-budget amendment has been the focus of heated debate in congressional committees and on the floor.

No presidential policy is so controversial that it provokes heated debate .

provoke

The Future Development of Auditing deserves to provoke a fundamental debate .

A proposed resolution to oppose voucher plans and charter schools provoked a spirited debate on the convention floor.

The fall of the Berlin Wall provokes a debate between the Professore and a Priest.

No presidential policy is so controversial that it provokes heated debate .

Doubts over Bush's health, however, provoked renewed public debate over Quayle's competence.

This highly readable account deserves a wide audience and should provoke serious debate .

The move provoked a prolonged debate about the pricing of audits.

The Thatcher government's policy, effected in the Broadcasting Act of 1990, provoked intense debate .

reopen

The cautious effort to reopen the debate was sparked by a controversial report from the United Nations Population Division this year.

spark

This idea sparked off a debate that still continues.

The arrival of the census form routinely sparks a bad-tempered debate about intrusiveness and unreasonable authority.

It also sparked debate over the treatment of animals in science.

The report sparked the first nationwide debate over whether low-calorie dieting was now outmoded.

The controversies surrounding severe mental handicap which began in the early 1980s sparked off a national debate which continues today.

The painting sparked a debate that finally led to Gross appearing in court last March.

Attrition rates, for tanks and aircraft increased greatly, sparking off a debate about the implication of the new technologies.

Putnam's article sparked enormous debate and soul-searching.

televise

There have been a total of four nationally televised vice presidential debates since the format premiered in 1976 when Sen.

Dole passed on participating in a televised debate last Friday in Dallas.

It therefore should be stated quite firmly that televised presidential debates are extremely valuable.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

heated argument/debate/discussion etc

After a short heated argument, the inspector agreed to pay the costs in cash from his local station funds.

After fifteen months of heated debate, Billingham was abandoned.

It got off to a hairy start with several heated discussions about what a wild boar is.

No presidential policy is so controversial that it provokes heated debate.

Since 1980, a balanced-budget amendment has been the focus of heated debate in congressional committees and on the floor.

There was heated argument at the meeting, with strongly differing views advanced.

There was a heated argument between the two men which at length it fell to Branson to settle.

Witnesses have already given descriptions of the pair who were seen having what appeared to be a heated argument.

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

The law was passed, after a long and sometimes angry debate .

There will be a televised debate between those in favour of military action and those who are against.

This matter has been the subject of intense public debate in recent weeks.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

For his part, Simpson said nothing Tuesday to fuel the debate over the verdicts.

His jibe was greeted with howls of laughter as Mr Smith savaged Mr Major during the emergency debate on the economy.

However, the House will have further opportunities during the debate to clarify that important point.

On some issues he gave details of steps to settle the debate .

The first question on foreign policy came 35 minutes into the debate .

This stark view of what really matters has touched off a spirited debate and will occupy us in Chapter 5.

Which is fine -- we enjoy a good debate in print, sensationalist punks that we are.

II. verb

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

hotly

The effects of television on childhood socialisation have been hotly debated for more than three decades.

Mackowiak says the causes, benefits and dangers of fever in humans are hotly debated among researchers.

The significance of this long-term advantage is still being hotly debated .

Fifty-two percent of California voters approved the hotly debated term-limits initiative in 1990.

Whilst the consequences of these changes may be hotly debated , their marketing impact on business enterprises has been immense.

Whether the abandoned innards, which are consumed by coyotes and ravens, harbor the disease is hotly debated .

The significance of these changes has been hotly debated; these debates will be examined later in the chapter.

A second hotly debated law set up the framework for a state Earthquake Authority.

how

And doctors and governments alike are debating how to curb the excesses of drug promotion.

Officials were still debating how to pay for the program.

Changes in the occupational structure Sociologists from Marx and Weber onwards have debated how best to define social classes.

much

While the evidence for the validity of the hypothesis is much debated , the evidence against it is almost non-existent.

That claim has been challenged and much debated , but it seems to hold up.

Probability is a very difficult notion, much debated by philosophers.

What this was was much debated , particularly by the metropolitan bishops of Arles and Vienne.

over

Several of the professors were internationally known figures who lectured to large audiences and engaged in public debates over controversial issues.

A communications and technology policy initiative to engage the civil rights community in debates over emerging communications and technology policy.

still

But the existence of a causal relationship is still debated .

Officials were still debating how to pay for the program.

The mechanism of action is still debated .

The need for gastroscopic follow up of pernicious anaemia patients is therefore still debated .

The role of endoscopic stenting for postoperative biliary strictures is still debated .

Stalin's man-made famine killed millions; just how many millions is still debated .

So much so, in fact, that they're still debating as they pull into a restaurant in the town.

■ NOUN

bill

I readily acknowledge the need for time to debate the Bill in Committee.

The Senate will debate the bill Monday and vote Tuesday on whether to override the filibuster.

As we debate the Bill , the period of public consultation is only half way through.

This year, the state Legislature spent months debating a bill that would have banned the teaching of evolution as fact.

I am sure that they need the time to debate the Bill just as much as anyone else.

The Louisiana legislature was debating a bill to outlaw virtually all abortions.

I was trying to calculate the exact number of hours which the motion allows the Committee to spend debating the Bill .

The issue of political asylum is, of course, being debated in relation to a Bill which is currently going through the House.

committee

I was trying to calculate the exact number of hours which the motion allows the Committee to spend debating the Bill.

congress

If the United states Navy had operated Sheffield, Congress would have openly debated the affair and heads would have rolled.

The Congress debated a transitional structure for an interim government before the adoption of a new Constitution.

house

The House debates a Bill on Second Reading and it is passed by chance rather than as a benefit of the arguments.

The House began debating the measure Thursday, moving it ahead of several spending bills.

Less than four years ago, the House debated the Second Reading of the poll tax bill.

issue

At the very least, it would mean that the real issues are debated rather than the trivial detail of statistics and history.

We were the platform where these issues were debated .

No real political issues ever debated in the mass media?

Hyde said he voted as he did so the issue could be debated in the House.

The whole issue is to be debated as a conference in Luxembourg in September 1992.

None the less, the issue is being debated .

Indeed, many of my hon. Friends find it frustrating that regional issues are seldom debated in the House.

It is the third Cabinet meeting this week at which this issue has been debated .

matter

I hope that we will debate those matters again.

None of them showed any interest, however, in debating the matter with her or with us.

Will he find time to debate the matter ?

When the House finally has a chance to debate the matter the Minister of State takes 40 minutes over his speech.

I hope that there will be plenty of opportunity to debate those matters next week.

I will bear her very much in mind when we debate the matter next week.

measure

The House began debating the measure Thursday, moving it ahead of several spending bills.

merits

It is not our intention here to debate the merits of these models, or their relation to the General Theory.

He was mournfully re-enacting the conversation between two officials, as they debated the merits of revoking a pass-interference penalty.

Without debating the relative merits of this policy, the facts exist.

A lot of otherwise productive time is being wasted debating the merits of each game.

This is a crucial element when debating the merits of improvements in the National Health Service or education.

Within weeks after our arrival the managers of each department had begun to debate our relative merits .

motion

To consider and, if thought fit, to pass Special Resolutions and to debate motions .

opportunity

Therefore, the House would have the opportunity of debating any proposed changes to the scheme.

A decision we do not, as employees, usually have an opportunity to debate or contribute to.

I see no opportunity to debate it in Government time.

I hope that there will be plenty of opportunity to debate those matters next week.

I promise the House a full opportunity to debate the report from the Committee.

It can be shown that individuals and groups welcome the opportunity to contribute to debate and to participate in policy making.

I am sure that all hon. Members representing Northern Ireland constituencies will welcome the opportunity to debate the orders.

What they did was to provide an opportunity to debate these issues, at the same time giving support to teachers.

parliament

It is a matter which Parliament has yet to debate .

It is men who sit in parliament , debating the laws which control a woman's destiny.

Such an Order had to be laid before Parliament and was there debated on 6 December 1977.

Yes: Parliament would debate inclusion of the Social Chapter later.

policy

Personal insults and accusations swamped efforts to debate policies .

But the courtroom is not the arena for debating issues of educational policy .

Neither the new regional conferences nor the revived Labour League of Youth were allowed to debate national policy .

Today the conference will debate the policy review reports Physical and Social Environment, including housing and transport.

politician

Just possibly, the politicians might begin debating that as they campaign for November's mayoral election.

proposal

Under their pressure Congress raised the limit to 115,000, and is debating a proposal to issue 200,000 H1B visas next year.

I welcome the possibility of debating the proposals of the Opposition parties.

question

This looks even more unconstitutional - but while the lawyers debate that question , the government could be holding the monetary line.

We have recently debated environmental questions generally.

These were the most hotly debated questions .

But the Second International did debate two questions which Marx and Engels left unresolved.

Thankfully, we can debate these questions in a time of peace, when the consequences of making a mistake are minimal.

There will be time to debate these questions later.

Participants debated sensitive questions about biology, race and science.

report

Mr. Cryer Will the Lord President explain the priorities that he adopts in providing time for debating the reports ?

I promise the House a full opportunity to debate the report from the Committee.

subject

This is the first time that we have debated the subject in the House, which is a pity.

As we have seen, this second chance to debate the subject of dissension within the community was also rejected.

time

Thus they spent much of their time debating the validity of various evaluation procedures as potential responses.

A lot of otherwise productive time is being wasted debating the merits of each game.

I readily acknowledge the need for time to debate the Bill in Committee.

Will he find time to debate the matter?

It is a waste of time to debate issues which are already settled.

I am sure that they need the time to debate the Bill just as much as anyone else.

Mr. Cryer Will the Lord President explain the priorities that he adopts in providing time for debating the reports?

The practical results will be felt by hundreds of millions who do not spend their time debating the theory of globalisation.

week

That is why we shall introduce the Asylum Bill, which will be debated next week .

Similar legislation is pending in the House, which plans to begin floor debate the week of March 18.

What I have just related will look rather familiar to those who examine the Bill that we will debate next week .

He will return to Florida for more debate prep later this week .

The House will be invited to debate the outcome next week .

I hope that there will be plenty of opportunity to debate those matters next week .

I will bear her very much in mind when we debate the matter next week .

■ VERB

begin

Similar legislation is pending in the House, which plans to begin floor debate the week of March 18.

Just possibly, the politicians might begin debating that as they campaign for November's mayoral election.

In response, regulators began to debate whether derivatives should be banned or reined in.

The Senate began debating its version of the immigration bill on Monday.

The House began debating the measure Thursday, moving it ahead of several spending bills.

Within weeks after our arrival the managers of each department had begun to debate our relative merits.

continue

They can continue to debate them all night, and even until the following morning, if they so desire.

Aviation historians continue to debate what happened to her.

Surely that question will continue to be debated for as long as there are children in schools and teachers there to teach them.

Her exact literary status continues to be debated in academia.

Legislators, medical ethicists and public health experts continue to debate limiting the use of such reproductive technologies.

open

This theory is, however, open to debate .

spend

We have spent three days debating the council tax.

This year, the state Legislature spent months debating a bill that would have banned the teaching of evolution as fact.

I was trying to calculate the exact number of hours which the motion allows the Committee to spend debating the Bill.

The practical results will be felt by hundreds of millions who do not spend their time debating the theory of globalisation.

Question: What do you get if you travel half way around the world and spend seven 19-hour days debating Amnesty's future?

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

Few areas of nutrition are more hotly debated than whether or not people should take vitamin supplements.

The government clearly refuses to give us an opportunity to debate any longer.

The matter will be debated by the General Assembly.

The new law was debated in Parliament on 14 February.

They had already debated where to go on vacation, Yosemite or Lake Tahoe.

We debated whether to fly or go by train, finally deciding on the train.

We were debating the best way to reach the river, when a passing ranger kindly pointed it out.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

But later the deputies set the stage for possible compromise by agreeing to debate a referendum after all.

He was mournfully re-enacting the conversation between two officials, as they debated the merits of revoking a pass-interference penalty.

The Bundesbank central council will meet Thursday to debate interest-rate and monetary policy.

They were no longer debating the rights of man at a Club for Equality and Reform.

We have spent three days debating the council tax.

Whilst the consequences of these changes may be hotly debated, their marketing impact on business enterprises has been immense.

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.