disagreement
- 01 B1 Intermediate
an argument or a situation where people do not agree on a topic.
a specific instance of conflict or debate between parties. Countable in this sense.
Simple“The two friends had a small disagreement about which movie to watch.”
In context“The board members had a sharp disagreement over the proposed budget cuts, leading to a three-hour debate.”
PitfallThey had a disagreement about the price. They had a disagreement over the price.While 'about' is common, 'over' or 'on' are often preferred when discussing the specific topic of a dispute.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the state of having a different opinion from someone else.
the abstract condition of variance or lack of consensus. Often uncountable in this sense.
Simple“There is still some disagreement among experts regarding the cause of the problem.”
In context“Widespread disagreement persists within the scientific community concerning the long-term ecological impact of the new dam project.”
“Why do disagreements about vaccines, climate change or elections often feel so personal?”
“The disagreement is over how much and how fast the current could change, what that would mean for the weather and crucially, whether the seasons we know today could begin to change.”
From dis- + agreement or disagree + -ment.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.