Word of the Day

: June 27, 2020

incontrovertible

play
adjective in-kahn-truh-VER-tuh-bul

What It Means

: not open to question : indisputable

incontrovertible in Context

"'Why are you kids inside? It's nice outside.' It wasn't a question. It was a directive. Out the door, pronto. Further, to us kids, the logic seemed incontrovertible. Indeed, if the sun were shining, why wouldn't we be playing under it?" — Phil Luciano, The Journal Star (Peoria, Illinois), 12 May 2020

"And so while all this may just be temporary—and it may simply be that in our leisure and idleness we are hearing birdsong that always was there, and noticing wildlife that was just beyond our ken—it nonetheless is incontrovertible that there is a small but discernible uptick in our apprehension of nature, and of our appreciation of the natural world." — David M. Shribman, The Salem (Massachusetts) News, 16 May 2020


Did You Know?

If something is indisputable, it's incontrovertible. But if it is open to question, is it controvertible? It sure is. The antonyms controvertible and incontrovertible are both derivatives of the verb controvert (meaning "to dispute or oppose by reasoning"), which is itself a spin-off of controversy. And what is the source of all of these controversial terms? The Latin adjective controversus, which literally means "turned against."



Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of incontrovertible: _ _ _ e _ u _ _ b _ _.

VIEW THE ANSWER

Podcast


More Words of the Day

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!