debater

«debater» in Mova's school dictionary: A person who takes part in a debate: a formal argument… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a debater, debaters)

meaning for a pupil

1) A person who takes part in a debate: a formal argument where speakers give reasons for and against an idea. tree →

2) Anyone who is good at arguing a point clearly with reasons. tree →

sense in the lessons

In school, debaters join a debate club or team and speak for or against a motion, such as «Homework should be banned»; a judge decides who argued better. In stories, a «good debater» is someone quick and clever with words. Phrases: «a skilled debater», «the debating team», «for and against».

examples

• Maya is the best debater in our class. tree →
• Each debater had three minutes to speak. tree →
• The debaters on our team argued that school should start later. tree →
• A good debater listens to the other side carefully. tree →
• The judge praised both debaters for their politeness. tree →
• He is a fierce debater at the dinner table. tree →
• Our school's debaters won the regional final. tree →

note

Countable noun: one debater, two debaters. Comes from «debate» + «-er» (drop the final «e» before «-er»). A debater does not always believe the side they argue; in contests the side is often given to them.

In the corpora

• Politicians on all sides use straw men; a fair debater first repeats the real idea, then says why they disagree.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «debater» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.