controversial

/ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.si.əl/

UK: /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.sjəl/

kɑn · TɹƏVɝ · si · əl (4 syllables)

English Adj Top 10,751
American (Lessac) (medium)
Female 1.0s
American (Amy) (medium)
Female 1.1s
American (Ryan) (medium)
Male 0.8s
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Definition

Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.

Etymology

From Latin contrōversiālis, from contrōversia + -ālis. By surface analysis, controversy + -al.

Example Sentences

  • "Whole libraries of controversial books."
  • "MAHER: Well, whatever. I just said we shouldn't have two national anthems. We're one country. It's not a good idea. We've seen what happens in other countries where you have, you know- when you separate things out. That's never where America was. That's never where liberalism was. It was about being a colorblind society. So, a new national anthem? Fine. I'll go for that. But not two. Because that leads down a road we don't wanna go. Applause. KIMMEL: Do you feel like... MAHER: Thank you. KIMMEL: Hey there's a lot of fear in the air and generally, you don't want to be caught applauding something that might be controversial. MAHER: I couldn't give a fuck. KIMMEL: I wasn't talking about you."
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