Choose the Right Synonym for contention

discord, strife, conflict, contention, dissension, variance mean a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony. discord implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony producing quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism. a political party long racked by discord strife emphasizes a struggle for superiority rather than the incongruity or incompatibility of the persons or things involved. during his brief reign the empire was never free of civil strife conflict usually stresses the action of forces in opposition but in static applications implies an irreconcilability as of duties or desires. the conflict of freedom and responsibility contention applies to strife or competition that shows itself in quarreling, disputing, or controversy. several points of contention about the new zoning law dissension implies strife or discord and stresses a division into factions. religious dissension threatened to split the colony variance implies a clash between persons or things owing to a difference in nature, opinion, or interest. cultural variances that work against a national identity

Examples of contention in a Sentence

Tiger Woods splashed his way into contention in the New Zealand Open … shooting a four under par to close within six strokes of the lead. — New York Times, 13 Jan. 2002 The issues behind the protest are the usual bones of collective-bargaining contention: pay increases, vacation time, union membership. — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 17 & 24 June 2002 Science, and academic scholarship in general, the contention these days goes, is too subjective. Some even allege it's entirely subjective, as is, they say, history. — Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996 All quotes from QDB. That has been a source of contention for years. He is in contention for the Olympic medal. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Play it safe, and play for par to be in contention at the end. — oregonlive, 17 May 2022 After Tuesday's competition, musicians representing the following counties are still in contention: Switzerland, Armenia, Iceland, Lithuania, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Ukraine, Moldovia and the Netherlands. — Sandra Gonzalez, CNN, 10 May 2022 The lack of a category for performance by an ensemble is felt keenly this year, as several plays and musicals in contention seem worthy of such a prize. — Washington Post, 9 May 2022 Other schools in contention are Alabama, USC, Florida, UCF, Texas A&M and Miami. — Robert Fenbers, cleveland, 5 May 2022 Bakula also has a pilot in contention this season at NBC, ranch drama Unbroken, which also hails from Universal Television. — Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 May 2022 Before Griner’s arrest, the Mercury made many moves in the offseason to put the team in contention to win another championship after losing to Chicago last season in the Finals. — Doug Feinberg, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 May 2022 Collins, a former four-star recruit, was in line for a significant increase in playing time and would have been in contention to replace Jones at point guard. — Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 30 Apr. 2022 Not only could Bryce Young and Will Anderson become the fourth set of college teammates to go No. 1 and 2, but projections also have the Crimson Tide in contention to break its own first-round record. — Michael Casagrande | Mcasagrande@al.com, al, 29 Apr. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contention.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for contention

Middle English contencioun "dissension, dispute," borrowed from Anglo-French cuntençun, contencion, borrowed from Latin contentiōn-, contentiō "exertion, competition, conflict," from conten-, variant stem of contendere "to strain, make an effort, strive, compete" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at contend

Note: Regarding the variant -ten- with deverbal suffixes beginning in -t- (so contentiō rather than *contensiō), see the note at tender entry 3.

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