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
But unlike many of their other losses to playoff-contending teams, the Lakers answered Denver’s run.
—
Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
On a Stanley Cup-contending team, he’s best served as a third-line driver.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
This opportunity is not about contending for a title or making a playoff run and won’t satisfy a large segment of their fans.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2026
After a 4-1 loss to the non-playoff-contending Calgary Flames last Thursday, the Sharks bounced back to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Saturday and the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime on Sunday.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026
However, failing to infuse this team with appreciably more talent in the coming weeks, and thereby denying the Pats a real chance to march through the gauntlet that is their 2026 schedule, would be a cardinal sin of contending.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
In 2019, Hjorth’s mother threatened to sue a theater staging an adaptation of Will and Testament, contending that the play violated her right to privacy.
—Elaine Blair, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
So every contending team enters the season believing that describes them.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
The path is similar this time around, and Tampa Bay is coming off a resounding 40-17 victory over the playoff-contending Los Angeles Chargers.
—Associated Pess, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Dec. 2024
Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
On a Stanley Cup-contending team, he’s best served as a third-line driver.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
This opportunity is not about contending for a title or making a playoff run and won’t satisfy a large segment of their fans.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 4 Mar. 2026
After a 4-1 loss to the non-playoff-contending Calgary Flames last Thursday, the Sharks bounced back to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Saturday and the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime on Sunday.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026
However, failing to infuse this team with appreciably more talent in the coming weeks, and thereby denying the Pats a real chance to march through the gauntlet that is their 2026 schedule, would be a cardinal sin of contending.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
In 2019, Hjorth’s mother threatened to sue a theater staging an adaptation of Will and Testament, contending that the play violated her right to privacy.
—Elaine Blair, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
So every contending team enters the season believing that describes them.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
The path is similar this time around, and Tampa Bay is coming off a resounding 40-17 victory over the playoff-contending Los Angeles Chargers.
—Associated Pess, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contending
Verb
-
The major obstacle facing a coal revival is the price of competing energy sources, especially natural gas.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The move was criticized as an undemocratic attempt to bar other Democrats from competing for the seat.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some residents and community groups say conditions around MacArthur Park remain far from resolved, arguing that drug activity and safety concerns persist despite recent enforcement and outreach efforts.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Citadel Securities published a blistering takedown of the Citrini essay, noting, for instance, that demand for software engineers is up 11% year over year, and more broadly arguing that productivity shocks have historically expanded output and raised real incomes.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In February, for instance, the Department of Justice joined a lawsuit brought by the 1776 Project Foundation, alleging that the Los Angeles Unified School District had violated the law by conditioning funding on the basis of student race.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Mar. 2026
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The family of a man fatally shot during a homecoming event at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging the university's failure to maintain adequate security and promptly respond to warnings of potential violence contributed to his death.—
Frederick Sutton Sinclair,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Safety and reasoning transparency OpenAI also introduced a new safety evaluation focused on chain-of-thought reasoning, the step-by-step explanations models generate while solving problems.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
-
In reasoning training, study participants worked on the ability to solve problems that follow a serial pattern, like identifying the pattern in a letter or number series.—
Akshay Syal,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the credentialing policy violates the journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process.—
Michael Kunzelman,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the credentialing policy violates the journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Our regions have long paid a heavy price, under both the shah and the clerical regime, for simply asserting our identity.—
Jalil Pakray,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The dual efforts in the House and Senate face uphill battles to become law, as previous efforts have failed in asserting congressional authority to declare war.—
Luke Garrett,
NPR,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Democrats are insisting on changes to immigration enforcement operations as part of the measure and blocked it from advancing.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Mar. 2026
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The protagonist, for her part, feels the students were willing participants and finds their accusations tiresome, insisting the modern outcry over power imbalances is overblown.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Our first glimpse of Tommy chained up, pleading to be let go, is through the eyes of a young Macedonian refugee, Katrina (Monika Frajczyk), being given a tour of the large countryside manor where she’s just been hired by Chris for twice-a-week housework.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Two brothers were sentenced to decades in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for a drive-by shooting at Denver’s Downtown Aquarium that killed a 19-year-old, according to the district attorney’s office.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contending. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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