Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sundrops]

Dear teacher:

I couldn't recognise the difference between "dispute" and "debate" because their meanings are so similar.
Could you please tell me there is any difference between the two words? And How to use these two words?
Thanks a lot!

Best wishes,
Phyllis

[CP]

A dispute is a problem between two people, a difference of opinion about something. I might have a dispute with my neighbor about which of us should repair the fence along our property line. I think he should fix the fence, and he thinks I should. We might never resolve the dispute, or we might find some way to resolve it, maybe through a mediator or a lawsuit.

A debate is a discussion or argument between two or more people in which they each take a different point of view and argue in favor of that point of view. My neighbor may say that he paid for the fence, so I should pay to repair it. I may say, in response, that he built the fence, therefore it belongs to him, not me, and it is his responsibility to take care of it. He says that it is only fair that we both pay something. I say that it is not fair for me to pay to take care of his fence. And so on until I win.

Those are the nouns. As a verb, to dispute can also mean to argue against, while to debate means to discuss with someone else, implying different points of view.

Others might dispute what I have said here, and if so, I welcome them to debate me.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[sundrops]

Thank you very much!!