ˌdispyəˈtāshən, -(ˌ)spyüˈ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English disputacioun, from Latin disputation-, disputatio, from disputatus (past participle of disputare ) + -ion-, -io -ion
1. : the act of disputing : controversy , debate
there is a familiar disputation among painters and critics over the relative merits of modern and traditional art — Atlantic
in a heated disputation with another driver who had dented his front fender
specifically : a formal rhetorical exercise in which somebody propounds and defends a thesis or in which two parties reason in opposition to each other
2. obsolete : interchange especially conversational