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counterargument

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,988 of 15,258Too rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Other forms: counterarguments

A counterargument is reasoning put forward to oppose reasoning already given. Meet the counterargument.

Naming the strongest counterargument yourself is what makes an argument convincing. A counterargument that attacks the person rather than the reasoning is not one at all.

Harriet Stowe, Internet Archive, book scanner · Public domain

Definitions of counterargument

  1. 1nouncounterargumentA piece of reasoning put forward to oppose the reasoning someone else has already given.B2+

    “The strongest counterargument was never mentioned in the whole report.”

counterargument is an argument.

Where it comes from

  1. Latin

    computō

  2. Medieval Latin

    computātōrium

  3. Old French

    conteor

  4. Middle English

    countour

  5. English

    counter

  6. English, today

    counterargument

From counter- + argument. counter Middle English countour, from Old French conteor (French comptoir), from Medieval Latin computātōrium, from Latin computō, equivalent to count + er. a doublet of cantore and computer and kontor.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Logic & Argument

Practise this word

counterargument in the wild

  • However, the counterargument goes that the combination of booing and applause help keep the quality of public performance high, by emotionally rewarding the good and punishing the bad.

    Booing

  • In reasoning and argument mapping, a counterargument is an objection to an objection.

    Counterargument

  • A counterargument can be used to rebut an objection to a premise, a main contention or a lemma.

    Counterargument

  • The key counterargument that he had to face was: How could a non-existing consciousness create a theory?

    Externism

  • Acknowledging the counterargument is a strategy in this type of writing.

    Persuasive writing

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the conteor family

counter

counterargument — used about once every 159,543 pages · #14,988 · point at the bar for the others

  • count
  • discount
  • countless
  • counterpart
  • counterpoint