Debate
Debate verb - To give serious and careful thought to.
To challenge and debate are semantically related. In some cases you can replace phrase "To challenge" with "Debate", this terms are similar.
To challenge
Debate and to challenge are semantically related. You can use "Debate" instead a verb phrase "To challenge".
Both terms in one sentence
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Scientists will and have refused to debate people who have no qualifications to challenge scientific theories but claim to have knowledge in the field that matches or exceeds that of someone who has dedicated their life to studying it.
Source: Fandom Berserk Button -
The sequel mentions that there's in-universe debate over whether Bilbo's last question is technically cheating, but it gets a pass because Gollum negotiated special rules (he accepted it on the condition of getting extra guesses) and therefore loses any grounds to challenge it.
Source: Literature / The Hobbit
Cite this Source
To challenge and Debate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 08, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/debate/to_challenge
Debate & To challenge. N.p., 2016. Web. 08 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/debate/to_challenge>.
To challenge or Debate. 2016. Accessed August 08, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/debate/to_challenge.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "debate" and "to challenge" have occurred on timeline