Meanings
plural opening arguments
- lawIn adversarial legal systems, a statement made by either party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which that party lays out their case, generally including the points of fact that they intend to demonstrate and to some degree indicating the rhetorical arguments for why they should prevail.
Synonyms: opening statement, opening speech
Synonyms & antonyms
nounIn adversarial legal systems, a statement made by either party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which that party lays out their case, generally including the points of fact that they intend to demonstrate and to some degree indicating the rhetorical arguments for why they should prevail.
Translations
Finnish avauspuheenvuoro
- avauspuheenvuorostatement
French première plaidoirie
- première plaidoiriestatement
German Anfangsplädoyer, erster Parteivortrag
- Anfangsplädoyerstatement
- erster Parteivortragstatement
Cite this entry
opening argument. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opening%20argument
“opening argument.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opening%20argument. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “opening argument,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opening%20argument.
Source: opening argument on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.