Meaning & use
disputed
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“disputed” is a form of “dispute”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Argued about and not agreed on, because people disagree over whether it is true, correct, or rightfully owned.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: disputed territory, a disputed result.
Patterns
- a disputed claim
- disputed territory
The two countries have long fought over the disputed border region.
The disputed election result led to weeks of protests.
Historians still debate the disputed origin of the legend.
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of dispute: to argue against a claim, or to question whether something is true.
Grammar: Takes an object: she disputed the bill.
Patterns
- dispute something
- dispute that something
She disputed the charge on her credit card.
The company disputed the findings of the report.
Nobody disputed that the plan was risky.
Word forms
| comparative | more disputed |
|---|---|
| superlative | most disputed |
Common combinations
- disputed territory
- Soldiers patrolled the disputed territory.
- disputed claim
- The disputed claim was sent to a court.
- hotly disputed
- The referee's decision was hotly disputed by fans.
- disputed election
- The disputed election divided the country.
- disputed ownership
- The disputed ownership of the painting delayed its sale.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contested
- Contested suggests an active challenge, often in a court or contest, while disputed can be any open disagreement.
- controversial
- Controversial means something causes public argument, whereas disputed means a specific fact or claim is not agreed.
- contentious
- Contentious describes topics that tend to cause arguments, and it is less specific than disputed about the claim.
- doubtful
- Doubtful means uncertain in a general way, but disputed means that other people openly argue against it.
Opposites
Word family
- dispute noun
- an argument or disagreement
- dispute verb
- to argue against or question something
- disputable adjective
- open to question
- undisputed adjective
- accepted by everyone and not questioned
- disputant noun
- a person involved in a dispute, formal
Commonly confused: disputed or disputatious?
disputed vs disputatious
Disputatious describes a person who likes to argue, while disputed describes a claim or matter being argued over.
Practice
The island has been a ___ territory for decades, claimed by two neighboring countries.
Choose one answer.
Disputed is the adjective for something claimed or argued over by both sides. Undisputed would mean everyone accepts who owns it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “disputed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.