Because many words are ambiguous or vague, people can disagree without really disagreeing about the world. They are using one word in two senses.
Key idea
A factual disagreement is about how things are; more facts could settle it. A verbal disagreement comes from using a word in different senses; it ends once people agree on what the word means.
Why it works
Arguing harder about facts cannot settle a verbal dispute, because the two sides already agree on the facts. Spotting it saves time: say what each side means by the word, and see whether anything is left to disagree about.
Worked example: Verbal or factual?
Tess: "Pluto is a planet; it goes around the sun." Omar: "Pluto isn't a planet; it hasn't cleared its path of other objects."
- Do they disagree about Pluto's facts? No: both accept that it orbits the sun and shares its path.
- They use "planet" in two senses: anything big and round circling the sun, or the astronomers' 2006 definition.
Answer: Verbal.
Worked example: A factual one
Leo: "The pool opens at nine." Grace: "No, it opens at ten."
- Both mean the same thing by "opens".
- A posted schedule would settle it.
Answer: Factual.
Some disputes are both: two people may mean different things by "rich" and also disagree about how much money someone has. Settle the meaning first; then see which facts are still in question.
Common mistake
Arguing about facts when the real disagreement is over a word, such as whether a hot dog "counts" as a sandwich. Ask: if we agreed on what the word means, would we still disagree? If not, the dispute was verbal.