The phrase "debated against" is correct and can be used in written English.
It is used when someone has argued or presented a case against something. For example, "The senator debated against the new bill in front of the legislature."
When Staten Island flirted with secession, he debated against it.
We debated against each other in regional competitions in high school, 20 years ago.
No, it is politics.' " But it turned out that Synar had grown up near Warren in Oklahoma, and they had debated against each other in high school.
In an epic meeting attended by 95% of the shareholders, he debated against the board (including, yes, Ayalas, Roxas, Sorianos and Ortigas) but lost.
Her hectic pace provoked Karen DeCrow, onetime president of the National Organization for Women, who frequently debated against her, to declare, sarcastically: "If I had a daughter I would like her to be a housewife just like Phyllis Schlafly".
He got a shock when he watched a prime-time Panorama on BBC1 during which his home secretary, Roy Jenkins, debated against his industry secretary, Tony Benn, for an hour.
"I'm tired of debating against a phrase".
He would be debating against four conservative pundits.
Perhaps some English viewers were also minded to be generous, wrongly assuming that she, a mere regional politician, might struggle to debate against Westminster heavyweights.
(All that is certain is that the debate was poorly conceived, with Finkelstein, a vocal critic of Israel, debating against three other vocal critics of Israel).
Johnson had also initially suggested he did not want to debate against other senior Tories, before appearing to shift his position.
