Contention

//kənˈtɛnʃən// noun

noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the act of competing as for profit or a prize wordnet
  3. 3
    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. countable, uncountable

    "It is my contention that state lotteries are taxes on stupid people."

  4. 4
    a point asserted as part of an argument wordnet
  5. 5
    Competition by parts of a system or its users for a limited resource. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
controversystrugglewaraltercationantagonismanteposition

Example

More examples

"Spread the table, and contention will cease."

Etymology

From Middle English contencion, borrowed from Old French contencion, from Latin contentio, contentionem, from contendō (past participle contentus); equivalent to contend + -tion (similar formation to attention).

Related phrases

bone of contentioncontention systemin contentionpoint of contentionresource contention

More for "contention"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.