Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The act or an instance of striving in controversy or debate. See Synonyms at discord.
- n. A striving to win in competition; rivalry: The teams met in fierce contention for first place.
- n. An assertion put forward in argument.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A violent effort to obtain something, or to resist physical force, whether an assault or bodily opposition; physical contest; struggle; strife.
- n. Strife in words or debate; wrangling; angry contest; quarrel; controversy; litigation.
- n. Strife or endeavor to excel; competition; emulation.
- n. Effort; struggle; vehement endeavor.
- n. That which is affirmed or contended for; an argument or a statement in support of a point or proposition; a main point in controversy.
Wiktionary
- n. struggle, contest, strife, argument, debate
- n. A point maintained in an argument, or a line of argument taken in its support; the subject matter of discussion of strife; a position taken or contended for.
- n. computing, telecommunications Competition by parts of a system or its users for a limited resource.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A violent effort or struggle to obtain, or to resist, something; contest; strife.
- n. Strife in words; controversy; altercation; quarrel; dispute.
- n. Vehemence of endeavor; eagerness; ardor; zeal.
- n. A point maintained in an argument, or a line of argument taken in its support; the subject matter of discussion or strife; a position taken or contended for.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a point asserted as part of an argument
- n. a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
- n. the act of competing as for profit or a prize
Etymologies
- From Middle English contencion, from Old French contencion, from Latin contentio, from contendere, past participle contentus ("to contend"); see contend. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English contencioun, from Old French contention, from Latin contentiō, contentiōn-, from contentus, past participle of contendere, to contend; see contend. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Main contention is that ‘Art’: its creation and appreciation, are innate; that these activities are universally human, that they developed as part of a survival mechanism.”
“Parker's main contention is that guest workers and illegal immigrants constitute distinct market segments, rather than close substitutes.”
Immigrant Labor Market Issues, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“It's not yet clear what the site will be called, but one name in contention is Shine.”
“From Quirin: "Petitioners 'main contention is that the President is without any statutory or constitutional authority to order the petitioners to be tried by military tribunal for offenses with which they are charged; that in consequence they are entitled to be tried in the civil courts with the safeguards, including trial by jury, which the Fifth and Sixth Amendments guarantee to all persons charged in such courts with criminal offenses.”
“Just below him in the title contention hierarchy is another fighter who recently earned a significant victory over a top-ranked heavyweight: Cain Velasquez.”
“This could be a hell of a lot of fun and the winner moves to the front of the title contention line.”
“Now that the Hokies have responded by playing the type of football they hoped would keep them in the title contention, they still have slim - maybe the slimmest possible - hopes of squeezing into the Bowl Championship Series.”
“Sebastian Vettel roars back into the title contention by winning the Japanese GP.”
“He got into serious title contention with four birdies over his first six holes, getting to”
“I felt like I was on the bandwagon, blog and all, before the rest of the basketball world had embraced a squad that was years away from serious title contention, but one that would absolutely get there.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘contention’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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EU Buzz - ALL words and expressions
A combined list of
1. EU Buzz - single words
2. EU Buzz - collocations
3. EU Buzz - the 100 most active
collocation constituentsabsorption capacity, absorption rate, acceding country, accession candidate, accession countries, accession country, accession criteria, accession cycle, accession negotia..., accession partner..., accession priorities, accession treaty and 2650 more...
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jaydrox's list
Mah list!
mediocracy, captivatingly, devastatingly, dazedly, heavenly, flawless, copious, conviction, synoptic, amalgamation, prefatory, precursory and 150 more...
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fancy essay words
hiatus, ontology, exegesis, hermeneutics, dialectics, demiurge, ascertain, contention, eschatological, synecdoche, centripetal, centrifugal and 96 more...
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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GRE
anomaly, assuage, enigma, equivocal, erudite, fervid, placate, lucid, opaque, precipitate, prodigal, zeal and 113 more...
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Why We Curse: WTF?
This list collects the magnificent collection of vocabulary of the article "What the F***? Why We Curse," by Steven Pinker, in The New Republic (Oct. 2007). I think I'm more impressed with the coll...
curse, language, earthy, ancient, unthinkable, thinkable, emotional, rhyme, meter, alliteration, pleasure, metaphor and 196 more...
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NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
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Aequoria's list
affect, deleterious, nuance, pliant, verbatim, pertinent, latter, municipality, provincial, voyeuristic, circumlocution, wane and 798 more...
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ulyssean
... as in "by James Joyce"
stately, plump, aloft, gurgling, untonsured, chrysostomos, jowl, parapet, jesuit, indigestion, scutter, noserag and 688 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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just words.
coquette, solecism, peripherally, recrudescence, viscid, turpitude, sententious, light-heeled, interminably, unflappable, palpably, solicitous and 215 more...
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Basic Vocaulary
censure, appease, affable, conviction, heretical, mundane, exalted, detached, paradigm, charisma, conformity, allude and 96 more...
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thricedotted's Words
schadenfreude, vanquish, calumny, obsequious, rhapsody, expostulate, promontory, bordello, quintessence, catharsis, recapitulation, myriad and 937 more...
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frequent toefl
Words that I do not know or unsure for toefl
appurtenances, aptitude, arbitrary, arboretum, argot, arrears, avocation, avuncular, badger, bait, warden, bane and 428 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for contention.
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