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Filibuster vs Debate - What's the difference?

filibuster | debate |

As nouns the difference between filibuster and debate

is that filibuster is a freebooter, or mercenary soldier while debate is (obsolete) strife, discord.

As verbs the difference between filibuster and debate

is that filibuster is to take part in a private military action in a foreign country while debate is (ambitransitive) to participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena.

filibuster

Noun

(en noun)
  • A freebooter, or mercenary soldier.
  • 1890' ''These duties involved prodigious physical and mental exertion, in a climate deadly to Europeans. They also involved much voyaging in waters haunted by '''filibusters''' and buccaneers. But nothing appears to daunt Labat. As for the '''filibusters , he becomes their comrade and personal friend; – he even becomes their chaplain, and does not scruple to make excursions with them.'' — Lafcadio Hearn, '' Two Years in the French West Indies.
  • (US, politics) A delaying tactic, especially the use of long, often irrelevant speeches given in order to delay progress or the making of a decision, especially on the floor of the US Senate.
  • * 2010 , "An own goal on gay rights", The Economist , 14 Oct 2010:
  • Then, last month, before the survey was finished and for reasons still unclear, the Democrats abruptly tried to attach a repeal of the law to the defence appropriations bill, a stratagem the Republicans defeated in a filibuster .
  • (US, politics) A member of a legislative body causing such obstruction.
  • Synonyms

    * (mercenary soldier) see

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To take part in a private military action in a foreign country.
  • (US, politics) To use obstructionist tactics in a legislative body.
  • * 1919 , William Roscoe Thayer, Theodore Roosevelt: An Intimate Biography , Chapter 11.:
  • But as the case had dragged on interminably, and he believed, and the world believed, and the Canadians themselves knew, that they intended to filibuster and postpone as long as possible, he took the common-sense way to a settlement.

    debate

    English

    Noun

  • (obsolete) Strife, discord.
  • An argument, or discussion, usually in an ordered or formal setting, often with more than two people, generally ending with a vote or other decision.
  • An informal and spirited but generally civil discussion of opposing views.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=(Leo Hickman)
  • , volume=189, issue=7, page=26, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= How algorithms rule the world , passage=The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use.}}
  • (uncountable) Discussion of opposing views.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author= Katie L. Burke
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= In the News , passage=Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis:
  • (Frequently in French form débat) A type of literary composition, taking the form of a discussion or disputation, commonly found in the vernacular medieval poetry of many European countries, as well as in .
  • Verb

    (debat)
  • (ambitransitive) To participate in a debate; to dispute, argue, especially in a public arena.
  • * Shakespeare
  • a wise council that did debate this business
  • * Bible, Proverbs xxv. 9
  • Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself.
  • * Tatler
  • He presents that great soul debating upon the subject of life and death with his intimate friends.
  • (obsolete) To fight.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.viii:
  • Well knew they both his person, sith of late / With him in bloudie armes they rashly did debate .
  • (obsolete) To engage in combat for; to strive for.
  • * Prescott
  • Volunteers thronged to serve under his banner, and the cause of religion was debated with the same ardour in Spain as on the plains of Palestine.
  • (lb) To consider (to oneself), to think over, to attempt to decide
  • Derived terms

    * debater

    Anagrams

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