This general definition of the term argumentation differs – because of the use of some technical jargon – from the way in which the meaning of the word “argumentation” would be described in everyday language. Although the definition is certainly in line with the way in which the word argumentation is used in ordinary usage, the meaning of the technical term argumentation is more precise, based on a conceptual analysis of the theoretical notion of argumentation. The definition that is given is stipulative in the sense that it introduces a specific, and to some extent new, convention of language use contrived to enable students of argumentation to deal with this concept in an adequate way. In this technical definition, the “process-product” ambiguity of the word “argumentation” is maintained: The term argumentation refers at the same time to the process of arguing (“I am about to complete my argumentation”) and to its product (“This argumentation is not sound”).

A number of theoretically important aspects of the notion of argumentation are explicitly mentioned in the definition: In principle, argumentation is a verbal activity, which takes place by means of language use, a social activity, which is as a rule directed at other people, and a rational activity, which is generally based on intellectual considerations.