Meaning & use
definitional boundary dispute
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablespecialistformal
A disagreement between countries or groups about where exactly a border lies because the words or maps used to describe it are unclear.
Grammar: Countable: one dispute, several disputes; usually used in political geography or international law.
Patterns
- a definitional boundary dispute between something and something
- resolve a definitional boundary dispute
The two nations have argued for decades in a definitional boundary dispute over the wording of an old treaty.
A definitional boundary dispute often goes to an international court because the maps themselves are ambiguous.
The river shifted course, turning a simple border into a definitional boundary dispute.
Word forms
| plural | definitional boundary disputes |
|---|
Common combinations
- resolve a definitional boundary dispute
- The mediators hoped to resolve the definitional boundary dispute before violence broke out.
- a long-running definitional boundary dispute
- The long-running definitional boundary dispute has hurt trade in the region.
- definitional boundary dispute over something
- They are locked in a definitional boundary dispute over the exact line of the frontier.
Synonyms and how they differ
- border dispute
- A broader term for any disagreement about a border; 'definitional boundary dispute' specifies that the problem is the unclear wording or definition, not just the location.
- territorial dispute
- Focuses on who owns the land rather than on how the boundary is defined in a document.
Word family
- definitional adjective
- relating to a definition or the act of defining
- boundary noun
- a line that marks the limit of an area
- dispute noun
- a serious disagreement
Commonly confused: definitional boundary dispute or border conflict?
definitional boundary dispute vs border conflict
A border conflict involves actual fighting; a definitional boundary dispute is a disagreement about meaning and may be settled peacefully.
Practice
What is the main cause of a definitional boundary dispute?
Choose one answer.
The key element is that the definition itself is ambiguous, so the parties disagree about what the boundary means. Building a wall or having different languages does not necessarily create a definitional dispute, and a border that was never drawn at all is a different kind of problem.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “definitional boundary dispute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.