How to Use controversial in a Sentence

controversial

adjective
  • He is a controversial author.
  • Abortion is a highly controversial subject.
  • The Rams won 58-57 there the year before on a controversial non-call at the buzzer.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2024
  • One is that the games tend to be good, and controversial.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2023
  • In the wake of the protests, the idea was controversial, and the city council rejected it.
    — Time, 4 Nov. 2022
  • In the end, the controversial plan for a highway along the railroad tracks and through Takoma Park was scrapped.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 12 July 2023
  • But the matchup turned controversial in the third quarter.
    — Natasha Dye, People.com, 19 May 2025
  • When one of the hosts joked the revelation might be controversial, the group joke that the Shrek alum shouldn’t have shared it.
    — Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 19 Dec. 2023
  • At the time, the figure-hugging look proved to be quite controversial.
    — André-Naquian Wheeler, Vogue, 16 June 2023
  • As the news of the incident spread, there was the sense that the protest was not the standard-issue dust-up over a controversial film.
    — Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022
  • Even putting the pastries smack in the middle was a little controversial — but, like, this is the apex, right?
    — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2022
  • The shift from four crew members to three will no doubt be controversial.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 11 Oct. 2022
  • One of the most controversial plays from the game was a fourth-and-inches quarterback sneak by Josh Allen.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 30 Jan. 2025
  • And if anything, the absence of the controversial Le Pen family name is a plus for the rest of the French electorate.
    — Cole Stangler, Time, 1 Apr. 2025
  • Garza's tenure as DA has been controversial from the start.
    — Paul Best, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Martin Bashir may be the most controversial figure in the latest season of The Crown.
    — Town & Country, 20 Nov. 2022
  • Avoid controversial topics Small talk is also not the time to solve the world’s problems.
    — Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 7 Dec. 2024
  • This week Richie Grainge was seen having lunch with friends in Beverly Hills, sporting one of the most controversial footwear styles of the year: the naked shoe.
    — Alex Kessler, Glamour, 2 Aug. 2023
  • In 2000, O’Connor cast the decisive vote in a case among the court's most controversial and one that would change history — Bush v. Gore.
    — Tim Dillon, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2023
  • The most controversial of these proposals from the past couple weeks was Scott.
    — Laura Johnston, cleveland, 28 June 2022
  • Among these trends that excite and provoke, the return of fur stands as perhaps the most controversial.
    — Shelcy Joseph, Essence, 19 Mar. 2024
  • The Cubs kept his access time brief, knowing he would be asked about the controversial subject.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Coming on the heels of the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the song proved controversial.
    — Andrew Jones, NBC News, 13 May 2023
  • The nation was in trouble, and such a headline was not controversial.
    — Bob Greene, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2022
  • And with any controversial song, for better or worse, people are going to tune in.
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2023
  • But of the core 13, to me this is potentially a no-skips album, which is maybe controversial.
    — Madison Feller, ELLE, 21 Oct. 2022
  • The controversial creator began on Vine with his brother, Jake, and moved to YouTube, then a podcast.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2023
  • The controversial swingarm’s hollow design lightens the visual load of wrapping around both sides of the rear wheel, while saving 8.3 pounds of weight at the tail.
    — Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 27 July 2024
  • Some of the lows stemmed from West's struggle with mental health, which led to some controversial comments and Twitter rants.
    — Alex Gurley, Peoplemag, 28 Sep. 2022
  • Comments Gwyneth Paltrow has a few choice words for those still criticizing her controversial candle.
    — Shania Russell, EW.com, 19 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'controversial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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