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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in opposing

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contending (with)

Verb

The Panthers wasted little time addressing the left side of the offensive line, signing Rasheed Walker in March as insurance for Ekwonu.

— Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
Talarico toured Green Space Nature Preschool and gardened alongside young children before addressing the media, describing childcare and early childhood education as not only an education issue but an economic issue.

— Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 July 2026

Definition of addressing

Verb

The United States learned that lesson painfully after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, when removing an opposing government did not produce the stable political outcome American leaders sought.

— David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
The organization is not supporting or opposing the latest measure.

— Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of opposing

Verb

By the 1990s, the responsibility of handling unclaimed and unidentified bodies had shifted to the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which works with local funeral homes to arrange burials and cremations.

— John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2026
The data can be collected by smartphone apps, transponders and other technology, with the apps able to detect whether a driver is handling the phone and is distracted — a leading cause of accidents along with speeding.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Definition of handling

Verb

Residents are fighting a proposal to build 192 apartments in seven buildings on a vacant slope near the Oceanside-Vista border just south of state Route 78.

— Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2026
That video cast Perry as a solider fighting battle in wartime scenes.

— Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026

Definition of fighting

Verb

Prep Baseball Report, a group based in Indiana, and Homefield’s baseball teams, would continue managing and utilizing the property under the 20-year lease term with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK.

— Sofi Zeman July 24, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026
The trailer relies on a hitch coupler force sensor to provide continuous feedback on the pull on the tow vehicle, managing the trailer's movement by increasing motor output or applying the electro-mechanical brakes located at all four wheels.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 23 July 2026

Definition of managing

Verb

Cambodia will host an international conference on combating cyber scams in September, Hun Manet said in a post on his Telegram social media account.

— Sopheng Cheang, Fortune, 22 July 2026
India expressed concern over China’s role in combating terrorism after the latter once again blocked India’s proposals to the UNSC to designate Masood Azhar as a terrorist in 2016 and 2017.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 July 2026

Definition of combating

Verb

Pamela Smart, whose conviction for manipulating her teenage lover into killing her husband became one of America's most notorious murder cases, has asked a New Hampshire judge to let her latest bid for a new trial move forward.

— Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 25 July 2026
Football is all about engaño (trickery) — looking one way and passing the other, feinting to go left and swiftly moving right, manipulating the opposition and tricking them to open up those little spaces.

— Xavi, New York Times, 19 July 2026

Definition of manipulating

Verb

These measures, including taking data centers off-grid and allowing power plants to exceed pollution limits, are now routine, invoked 43 times in 14 months compared to 20 in the prior 50 years.

— Anna Demeo, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Reached a second successive final with Argentina, almost single-handedly firing them there with eight goals (taking his tally to 15 goals from 15 matches in the past two tournaments).

— Tim Spiers, New York Times, 21 July 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.

Browse Nearby Words

contending

contending (with)

contends

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Contending (with).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contending%20%28with%29. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of contending (with)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

parochial

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes