1. Disagreeing with someone in English
Disagreeing with someone else's opinion is normal. How we do it can make a big difference. In this lesson, we will learn useful phrases to express your disagreement in a nice or strong manner, with examples for each case.
Being nice when you disagree helps keep the chat friendly. Here’s how:
- Say something nice first:
- I get your point, but...
- You’ve got some good ideas, however...
- I can see what you mean, but....
- It’s okay to not know everything while still giving your opinion about something:
- I might not have all the facts, but...
- You know a lot about this, though I feel....
- Share your side:
- From my side...
- Looking at it my way...
- From my understanding..., I think....
- It’s hard to disagree sometimes:
- I wish I could agree, but...
- I wish you were right, but....
- Talk about when you could agree:
- If things were a bit different, I might agree...
- I’d agree with you if....
- Make your disagreement softer:
- I see it a bit differently
- I don’t quite agree.
- Ask questions instead of making statements:
- Could it be that...?
- What about thinking of it like this...?
- I get your idea, however, have you thought about...?
- I understand your point, but what if we consider....?
- Compare ideas:
- This idea is good, but I think this one might be better...
- That makes sense, but here’s another thought....
2. Strong disagreement
Sometimes, you need to be clear that you really don’t agree. Here are various expressions you can use:
- I really don’t agree.
- I see it very differently.
- That’s not right at all.
- I can’t go along with that.
- No way!
- Absolutely not!
- Do you really believe that?
- Isn’t there a better way to see this?
- I can’t believe you think that.
- Are you serious?
- That doesn’t add up.
- Here’s why that can’t be right...
- That makes no sense to me.
- This is ridiculous.
You can use boosting words like absolutely, definitely, totally, entirely, fully, etc. to make your statement even stronger.
- Absolutely not.
- Definitely not.
- You are totally wrong.
- I strongly disagree with that.
- I’m totally against the idea that...
- I fully reject the idea that...
- You are clearly mistaken if you think that...
- The argument you’re making is wholly unfounded and speculative.
- That is entirely unacceptable.
- Undeniably, your opinion lacks evidence.
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