Skip to main content
Dictionary
Store
Blog
World
Help
Advertise
Chat
System Status
Information Collection Notice
Trademark Concerns
reCAPTCHA Privacy
Terms of Service
reCAPTCHA Terms
Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Report a Bug
Data Request
Contact Us
Security
DMCA
© 1999–2026 Urban Dictionary ®
Mugs
Tees
Hoodies
Pro Customization
Create unique products with your own words and definitions
Preview
Personalize Your Design
Your Word
Your Definition
Today, a form of intellectual self-masturbation in which one attempts to scale an ivory tower in the shortest time possible. Policy debate was founded in 1957 in an attempt to disguise the throes of the real world with dignified, "intellectual" switch-side arguments. The framers intended it to allow young people to become more active in the world around them and encourage them to do something to help the ailing world. Instead, debaters made the activity into a competition of who could spew the most statistics, impacts, horribly damnable effects/results, screaming evidence at cutthroat speed, and modern debate sprouted as a result. Debate resides close to the top of the proverbial "ivory tower", as the real world gets translated into evidence and impacts, statistics and "strats" to win tournaments. Those who participate for the fun of it are exempt from this definition; it is only applicable to debate when it is applied as a critical theory that can "benefit the world".
Text fits
Save
Cancel