controversial figure
6
4.6
- noun
:
figura controvertida
- The controversial figure sparked a heated debate during the town hall meeting.
Papa, who's a who's a divisive figure, controversial figure.
- Papa, who's a who's a divisive figure, controversial figure.
- So I, I will say that he's a very controversial figure now, but it's somebody I have tremendous respect for, which is Winston Churchill.
- So he's, you know, Moorcock is a pretty controversial figure, I think you can say in part because he makes himself so, so controversial, right?
- While we now Fast forward and the person in the crosshairs is Donald Trump, a Republican, obviously a highly controversial figure.
- Obviously Watson is a controversial figure, but what they used, importantly, they use X-ray diffraction data of Rosalind Franklin.
- He was a controversial figure very early on.
- But so Hare Collins, also Sandra Harding, another controversial figure, but one who I really appreciate.
Examples
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Eugene Genovese was one of the most influential and controversial figures.
Academic text (2014) -
When a prominent but controversial figure lives to the age of 98, we can be sure that members of the press have spent at least a decade considering their characterizations.
Academic text (2005) -
To make matters worse, he was a very controversial figure.
Blog text (34) -
He was a controversial figure very early on.
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Ironically, the controversial figure at the centre of it all has done just that.
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The captain general immediately became a controversial figure in Havana.
Academic text (2013) -
Colonel Tunnell is a controversial figure in the Army.
Blog text (23) -
Louise Mensch was already a controversial figure in British politics.
Blog text (4) -
Biden has been a controversial figure, occasionally prone to making rhetorical gaffes.
Blog text (23) -
Jack Rothbaum, known as Pug to his friends, was a controversial figure in Tulsa's small Jewish community
Synonyms
6
8.5
A person who makes a crowd angry or excited about politics
2
9.9
A person who argues strongly in public to support a controversial idea
1
9.9
A person who often argues about public or political issues
A person who says things that make people angry or start fights
A person who argues strongly in writing about religion or ideas
Antonyms
How Controversial
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'controversial' (causing public disagreement) with 'figure' (a prominent person); a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a person who provokes debate. Adjective + noun composition is a basic, cross-linguistic pattern, so the phrase is transparently interpretable.
Etymology
Controversial figure gives a simple picture: controversial means many people argue or disagree, and figure means a person. So it refers to 'a person who causes strong public disagreement or debate'.