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
In court, the city had argued for a much smaller damages award, contending some members of the plaintiff class paid their citations so late that proper notification by the city wouldn’t have mattered.
—
David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
However, some scientists, including climate scientist James Hansen, say the heat and the warming ocean temperatures could leave 2026 contending for the new warmest year on record.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 29 May 2026
And while Alcantara has never really profiled as a true big-league solution for a contending team like the Phillies, some additional depth certainly wouldn’t hurt.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
And the barometer for success would be a team that sets up as capable of contending to get to the NBA Finals, where recent seasons, and perhaps even this one, have shown that injuries for the opposition can change anything.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 28 May 2026
And when you’re supposed to be contending for the Stanley Cup every year, eventually there are consequences.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 27 May 2026
About 4,000 of the positions are vacated each year, the report notes, contending that only 3,000 should be backfilled.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 26 May 2026
For instance, Loevy represented two people arrested in 2005 and subjected to strip searches at the Cook County Jail, contending that the strip-search procedures violated their constitutional rights.
—Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026
Another candidate was an outspoken opponent, contending that the project was a sop to developers.
—Jason Zengerle, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
However, some scientists, including climate scientist James Hansen, say the heat and the warming ocean temperatures could leave 2026 contending for the new warmest year on record.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 29 May 2026
And while Alcantara has never really profiled as a true big-league solution for a contending team like the Phillies, some additional depth certainly wouldn’t hurt.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
And the barometer for success would be a team that sets up as capable of contending to get to the NBA Finals, where recent seasons, and perhaps even this one, have shown that injuries for the opposition can change anything.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 28 May 2026
And when you’re supposed to be contending for the Stanley Cup every year, eventually there are consequences.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 27 May 2026
About 4,000 of the positions are vacated each year, the report notes, contending that only 3,000 should be backfilled.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 26 May 2026
For instance, Loevy represented two people arrested in 2005 and subjected to strip searches at the Cook County Jail, contending that the strip-search procedures violated their constitutional rights.
—Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026
Another candidate was an outspoken opponent, contending that the project was a sop to developers.
—Jason Zengerle, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contending
Verb
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Now, though, NIL offers teams like Indiana and Texas Tech a quick path to competing at a national level.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2026
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As part of our Language of Soccer World Cup series, The Athletic is speaking to supporters of all 48 nations competing at the 2026 edition to capture their unique football culture, distilled into a single phrase.—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Russia warns of major Kyiv attacks The Kremlin urged foreign diplomats to leave Kyiv, warning of a major forthcoming attack, with analysts arguing that Russia is losing momentum in its war on Ukraine.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
29 May 2026
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The men were arguing about a conflict that their children were having, the mother told the TV station.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Another commenter claimed the gravy served during Sanders' era differed from today's version, alleging the original recipe included chicken cracklings, seasoned breading, milk and cream.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2026
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For example, The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023, alleging that the companies used the outlet’s journalism to train their AI systems, which then went on to generate outputs that have competed with or reproduced New York Times articles.—
Daryl Lim,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Lower effort settings prioritize faster responses and reduced token use, while higher settings allow the model to spend more time reasoning through difficult prompts.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
28 May 2026
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Indeed, ERs are messy, real-world clinical environments where reasoning under pressure matters most.—
Jesse Pines,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Verb
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And after claiming the Class 2A title five decades ago, the Warhawks finally have second CIF banner to hang.—
Rick Hoff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
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The Washington Nationals are in full damage control after an undercover journalist with the O’Keefe Media Group caught now former Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson claiming to be religiously discriminating against Catholic starting pitcher Trevor Williams.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Four Republicans joined with Democrats to support a resolution asserting the legislative branch's war authority and blocking further hostilities in the region.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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The language push comes amid signs of a shift in some other Gulf countries, where younger locals are no longer looking so much to the West for validation and are increasingly comfortable asserting their identity in their own language.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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And as far as drawing comparisons to Damian Lillard’s trade demands from Portland, this is not the case of a player insisting on solely going to one team.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
4 June 2026
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Iran's enriched uranium stockpile has been a major sticking point in negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the war, with Trump insisting Iran give it up.—
Francois Murphy,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Verb
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After years of lobbying, cajoling – virtually pleading – state lawmakers back in 2024 finally granted the state Lottery an online presence.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
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The ad shows footage of Williamson walking out of a downtown Sacramento courthouse earlier this month after pleading no contest to lying to federal authorities, falsifying tax records and bank fraud.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contending. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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