con·tro·ver·sy /'kän-trə-ˌvər-sēBrit alsokən-'trä-vər-sē/ n pl -sies
1: a state of dispute or disagreement
suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollarsU.S. Constitution amend. VII
2: a civil action involving a real and immediate dispute between parties with adverse interests
◇ Article III of the U.S. Constitution gives the judiciary the power to decide cases and controversies. Article III's limitation of the judicial power to cases or controversies requires that an action brought in the federal court involve parties with standing to sue and questions that are ripe and not moot.
con·tro·ver·sial /ˌkän-trə-'vər-shəl, -'vər-sē-əl/ adj

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

I (argument) noun altercatio, altercation, antagonism, argumentation, brawl, break, broil, clashing, conflict, conflict of opinion, contention, contest, contestation, controversia, debate, difference of opinion, disaccord, disagreement, disceptatio, disceptation, discongruity, discord, discordance, disharmony, disputation, dispute, disputed point, disputed question, dissension, dissidence, dissonance, disunion, disunity, divergence, divergent opinions, embroilment, failure to agree, feud, friction, impugnation, inaccordance, incongruence, inconsistency, inharmoniousness, inharmony, jangle, lack of concord, opposition, polemics, quarrel, question at issue, rupture, set-to, split, squabble, strife, subject of dispute, unconformity, variance, wrangle associated concepts: arbitrable controversy, matters in controversy, submission of a controversy II (lawsuit) noun action, case, case at law, cause, contest, judicial contest, legal action, legal argument, legal proceeding, legal process, litigation, matter for judgment, process in law, suit in law associated concepts: actual present controversy, amount in controversy, case or controversy, controversies in bankruptcy, controversy arising under Constitution, controversy arising under laws of the United States, controversy at law or in equity, controversy between citizens of a state and a foreign country, controversy between citizens of different states, controversy over claim, justiciable controversy, real controversy, settlement of controversy in bankruptcy, subject of controversy, sum in controversy III index altercation, argument (contention), belligerency, case (lawsuit), conflict, contention (argument), contention (opposition), contest (dispute), contradiction, difference, disaccord, disagreement, discord, disparity, dispute, dissension, dissidence, feud, fight (argument), incompatibility (difference), lawsuit, rift (disagreement), strife, struggle, variance (disagreement)

Burton's Legal Thesaurus. . 2006

A dispute that can be litigated in court; a civil action or lawsuit.


A disagreement, argument, or quarrel. See also: actual controversy
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.

2 In constitutional law, an actual, definite, and concrete dispute over legal rights between parties with adverse interests wherein one party is seeking an adjudication of the dispute and specific relief of a conclusive nature. Also called case requirement or controversy requirement.
@ separable controversy
A cause of action or claim that is part of a lawsuit, but is independent and separate from the other causes of action and claims in the action and can be severed and litigated separately from them.
n. A claim that is independent from, and capable of being separated out from the other claims in a lawsuit. It is used most often if a part of a larger suit can stand alone as a suit in a federal court, in which case, the whole suit is statutorily removable to a federal court.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.


Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

   1) disagreement, argument or quarrel.
   See also: advisory opinion

Law dictionary. . 2013.


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