CONTENDING (WITH) Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

contending (with)

verb

present participle of contend (with)

as in addressing

to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently a multitude of problems to contend with as soon as he returned to the office

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in opposing

to strive to reduce or eliminate medical missionaries who daily contend with disease and poverty

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contending (with)

Verb

Gilbert shared a post to his Instagram story responding to the outcry from fans of the actor over the weekend, addressing claims that Danny is pro-ICE or supports Shapiro’s politics.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Caplan said that Weiss’s consistent internal communication on his action plan—addressing nine areas, including facilities, visitor experience, technology, and security—has already helped with morale.

— Hilarie M. Sheets, ARTnews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of addressing

Verb

In the film, Rina is driven into exile for opposing the government.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Enough Promises paid the firm Seven Farms more than $397,000 on two dates last week for printing, postage and mail services either supporting Levy or opposing Brown.

— Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of opposing

Verb

Screen Queensland is on board, with Kismet distributing locally and Cornerstone handling international sales.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max push the boundaries of what mobile phones can do, such as handling on-device Siri AI calculations and running computational photography algorithms to deliver the best possible images.

— Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of handling

Verb

Karen Huger is sober, Wendy Osefo is fighting to reclaim her reputation, Tia’s husband is cheating on her, and Ashley Darby remains committed to the sacred constitutional right to be in everybody’s business but her own.

— Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
More than 8,000 of his employees are fighting Russian forces.

— Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of fighting

Verb

Positioning the commercial arm of the 100-year-old BBC for a streaming future while managing the traditional linear channels that still do great business in many international territories.

— Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Years later, there’s still work to be done managing a film’s intellectual property rights and corporate vehicles.

— Kim Jackson, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of managing

Verb

Unions can also be powerful tools for combating racial pay discrimination; the new report shows tripling union membership would narrow the racial wage gap by more than a third.

— Liz Shuler, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Selick says that being hyper-focused on any drug is a distraction in combating the opioid crisis.

— Mary Jane Gibson, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of combating

Verb

Present-day police work reflects our current economic order by placing a high value on manipulating such immaterialities.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
According to Treasury, Galeano had been detained in the United States in 2017 on suspicion of manipulating ATMs and was found with drugs and backpacks containing a large amount of cash.

— Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of manipulating

Verb

Forward Eetu Luostarinen left the game midway through the third period after taking a puck to the face and did not return.

— Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
Late in the third quarter, UNC took its first lead of the game on Demon June's 1-yard touchdown run, taking a 14-10 lead.

— Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of taking

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.

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contending

contending (with)

contends

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“Contending (with).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contending%20%28with%29. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of contending (with)

verb

Example Sentences

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