CONTENDING Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

contending

verb

present participle of contend

as in competing

to engage in a contest two traditional rivals contending for the championship

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of contending In addition to contending for national titles, the men will compete for spots on the 2026 World Championship Team. — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Union officials and House Democrats close to labor dismissed Welch’s claim, contending Benton had no real influence over organized labor’s decisions. — Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 But their focus on trying to enhance their chances of contending in 2026 cannot be questioned. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2026 Seattle doesn’t have a single forward who would be considered a top-line player on a Cup-contending team. — Harman Dayal, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Malinick expects that availability will also be short-lived, contending that the Blackbird will be entirely presold during Monterey Car Week, when a show prototype breaks cover on August 14 at the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering. — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2026 Decisions on matters such as war, citizenship, exile and capital punishment were made in the assemblies and courts, where citizens heard contending speeches and voted immediately afterwards. — Richard Yanowitch, Mercury News, 29 July 2026 Pitching is always in high demand at the trade deadline and Garrett would be an option as a back end of the rotation starter or a swingman for a contending team. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contending

Verb

But the public should also understand what happens when institutions reduce job security while continuing to pay way less than competing employers.

— Francisco Ruiz, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
Setting a new standard This June, Penn State football players lined the on-campus baseball stadium to greet athletes competing in the Pennsylvania Special Olympics.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of competing

Verb

Murdaugh’s defense quickly responded on Thursday, arguing none of the alternative locations proposed by the state meet their criteria.

— Devon M. Sayers, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Kestou filed a motion last December to dismiss the charge, arguing the fire, not his storage of the canisters, caused Salter's death.

— DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of arguing

Verb

Democratic lawmakers demand investigations and an oversight visit, alleging dangerous conditions and poor treatment aboard the Lincoln, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismisses the reports as exaggerated and misrepresented.

— Konstantin Toropin, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Now, the City of Oakland is suing the property owner, Mosser Living, alleging elderly and disabled tenants were left stranded in their homes and that the prolonged elevator outage was part of a much broader pattern of neglect.

— CBS News, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of alleging

Verb

Engineers like me hold several spatial relationships in their minds at once, reasoning about where things sit relative to one another across scales ranging from a city block to a whole watershed.

— Hatim Sharif, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 2026
This line of attack came from Mythos reasoning that the repository maintainer could be an AI coding agent such as Claude Code.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of reasoning

Verb

Romero, known for his outspoken personality, makes his initial defense after claiming the title from Ryan Garcia.

— Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
In one case, the Administration wanted to place a citizenship question on census forms, claiming that this would somehow help protect minorities’ voting rights.

— Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of claiming

Verb

The world’s most critical waterway remains functionally closed, despite the president insisting that the US retains total control of it.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
When confronted with this brazen conflict of standards during last week’s special session, members of the General Assembly simply dismissed the contradiction, insisting that the law does not apply to them.

— Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026