controversial
adj.adj. causing a lot of disagreement or public argument. You use this to describe a topic, person, or decision that people have very strong and opposite opinions about.
adj. giving rise or likely to give rise to public disagreement. Describes subjects or actions that provoke strong, conflicting opinions among different groups.
The new law is very controversial.
The committee made a controversial decision to close the local library despite protests from the neighborhood residents.
The director's latest film remains controversial among critics, who are divided on whether its graphic imagery serves a narrative purpose or is merely intended to shock the audience.
From Latin contrōversiālis, from contrōversia + -ālis. By surface analysis, controversy + -al.
Commonly modifies nouns like 'issue', 'decision', 'figure', or 'topic'.
a controversy issuea controversial issueLearners often use the noun 'controversy' as an adjective instead of the correct adjectival form 'controversial'.