con‧tro‧ver‧sy AC / ˈkɒntrəvɜːsi, kənˈtrɒvəsi $ ˈkɑːntrəvɜːrsi / noun ( plural controversies ) [ uncountable and countable ]
a serious argument about something that involves many people and continues for a long time :
a political controversy
the controversy surrounding Skinner’s theories
cause/provoke/arouse controversy
The judges’ decision provoked controversy.
controversy over/about
the controversy over campaign-finance issues
Controversy arose (= began ) over the use of the chemicals on crops.
COLLOCATIONS
adjectives
political/religious controversy The agreement attracted a lot of political controversy.
public controversy (= among the ordinary people of a country ) His book sparked off a public controversy about the issue.
great/major controversy That decision was the second major controversy of the Prime Minister’s career.
fierce controversy (= very great ) This question has been at the centre of a fierce controversy.
bitter controversy (= involving very angry feelings ) The strike was called off, amid bitter controversy.
a lot of controversy There’s been a lot of controversy about the term ‘victim’.
verbs
cause controversy His speech caused great controversy.
arouse/provoke/excite controversy (= cause it ) Locke aroused considerable controversy with his suggestion.
spark (off) controversy (= cause it ) The new rules are likely to spark more controversy.
fuel controversy (= add to it ) England’s manager fuelled controversy with his criticism of the referee.
be dogged by controversy (= cause controversy in a way that is a problem ) Even before it was introduced, the system was dogged by controversy.
be embroiled in a controversy (= be involved in one ) A film company became embroiled in a controversy over the title of one of its movies.
be surrounded by controversy The circumstances of her death were surrounded by controversy.
avoid controversy So far, the scheme has avoided controversy.
controversy surrounds something the controversy surrounding modern farming methods
controversy arises Some controversy arose over the safety of the vaccination.
phrases
a matter/subject of controversy The right age to vote is a matter of controversy.
a storm of controversy Since its release, the film has met a storm of controversy.
the centre of a controversy The idea became the centre of a bitter controversy.