1
as in competing
to engage in a contest
two traditional rivals contending for the championship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in arguing
to state (something) as a reason in support of or against something under consideration
contended that the senator's considerable experience made him the best candidate
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in alleging
to state as a fact usually forcefully
contended that his opponent was wrong about practically everything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contending
Hernandez disagreed, contending department officials walk over them.
—
City News Service, Daily News, 18 June 2026
The Swede's game should fit this difficult track, but contending or not will rely on what is going on between the ears.
—Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026
The film directed by Peter Schnall and Cyndee Readdean is contending for Emmy nominations in multiple categories.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 June 2026
Dubas doesn’t want to trade him, but contending teams have wanted Rust for years and still do.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 16 June 2026
In a conversation moderated by IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill, the artists broke down the biggest and smallest choices that went into some of our favorite Emmy-contending shows of the year.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 15 June 2026
The Knicks became a championship-contending team by mixing the right ingredients with selfless stars, effective role players, smart coaching and a resilient attitude.
—Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
Today, quickly putting himself in a contending position.
—Ren Clayton, CBS News, 10 June 2026
But the Senate Democratic Caucus isn’t united behind him, and his series of stumbles has some in the party contending that Collins’ defeat is no longer a prerequisite to winning the majority.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 10 June 2026
City News Service, Daily News, 18 June 2026
The Swede's game should fit this difficult track, but contending or not will rely on what is going on between the ears.
—Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026
The film directed by Peter Schnall and Cyndee Readdean is contending for Emmy nominations in multiple categories.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 June 2026
Dubas doesn’t want to trade him, but contending teams have wanted Rust for years and still do.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 16 June 2026
In a conversation moderated by IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill, the artists broke down the biggest and smallest choices that went into some of our favorite Emmy-contending shows of the year.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 15 June 2026
The Knicks became a championship-contending team by mixing the right ingredients with selfless stars, effective role players, smart coaching and a resilient attitude.
—Mark Medina, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
Today, quickly putting himself in a contending position.
—Ren Clayton, CBS News, 10 June 2026
But the Senate Democratic Caucus isn’t united behind him, and his series of stumbles has some in the party contending that Collins’ defeat is no longer a prerequisite to winning the majority.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contending
Verb
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Bowman has been competing at USA Basketball’s Under 17 World Cup training camp in Colorado.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
18 June 2026
-
Sixty years after the boycott, Africa has nine nations competing at this 48-team World Cup.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
Verb
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The chamber has disputed that characterization, arguing the bill will drive up costs for consumers.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
20 June 2026
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But the industry groups are still arguing that film credits should be entirely exempt from the new limitations, as they have already been accounted for and approved by the Legislature through 2030.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
Marie Theodat filed suit in Suffolk Superior Court in September 2025 against more than a dozen defendants, alleging claims of discrimination, defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
14 June 2026
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In January 2025, Baldoni responded by filing a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and others, alleging defamation, extortion, and related claims.—
Janelle Ash , Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Betani was the sole vote against appointing Vaccaro, reasoning that voters should be the ones to make this decision in November.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
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Folding laundry, loading dishwashers, cleaning kitchens, and navigating cluttered homes require many of the same perception, manipulation, and reasoning capabilities that would eventually allow robots to operate independently on a battlefield.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Sina Azodi, director of George Washington University’s Middle East studies program, noted Israel’s attacks on Lebanon are an issue for Iran while the US could possibly interpret Tehran claiming to close the Strait of Hormuz as a violation of the memorandum of understanding.—
Mitchell McCluskey,
CNN Money,
21 June 2026
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South African and Malawian authorities have been coordinating in recent weeks to facilitate the repatriation of thousands of Malawian citizens gathered at the site in Durban, claiming to flee anti-migrant tensions and fears of violence.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 June 2026
Verb
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Paxton last week threatened to sue the Big 12 for more than $200 million, asserting that the conference punishing Texas Tech could violate a court order that allows Sorsby to play.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
15 June 2026
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For example, the model refused NBC News’ requests to offer opinions about Elon Musk and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, asserting that the questions might be dangerous.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
Verb
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New Delhi, however, rejected the claim, insisting the ceasefire was the result of direct bilateral talks with Pakistan.—
Kyra Colah,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
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The result, while admirably considered, is almost comically misjudged — like insisting Paddington the bear sits on a throne of lies.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Verb
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She was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to one count of fraud in connection with a major disaster or emergency benefits and one count of mail fraud.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
-
He was also sentenced to life imprisonment in Missouri after pleading guilty to five counts of murder.—
Alexa Newsom,
Kansas City Star,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contending. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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