acknowledge vs controvert

acknowledge

verb
  • To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in 

  • To own as genuine or valid; to assent to (a legal instrument) to give it validity; to avow or admit in legal form. 

  • To own or recognize in a particular quality, character or relationship; to admit the claims or authority of; to give recognition to. 

  • To be grateful of (e.g. a benefit or a favour) 

  • To report (the receipt of a message to its sender). 

controvert

verb
  • To argue against (something or someone); to contradict, to deny. 

  • To dispute, to argue about (something). 

  • To be involved or engaged in controversy; to argue. 

How often have the words acknowledge and controvert occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )