Disputation

noun

1. The act of disputing; debate.
2. An academic exercise consisting of a formal debate or an oral defense of a thesis.
3. The act of disputing or debating; argumentation; controversy; verbal contest respecting the truth of some fact, opinion, or proposition.
4. An exercise in which parties debate and argue on some question proposed, as in a school or college.
5. Augustine disputation. See Augustine.