CONTENDS Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

contends

verb

present tense third-person singular of contend

as in competes

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in argues

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 alleges

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 contends The lawsuit contends Hoskins' office illegally intervened in an April municipal election. — Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026 Kanter, who also played for the Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz, contends his ticket arrangement wasn’t unusual or worrisome. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 Sep. 2026 Kaepernick contends Roc Nation went as far as trying to plant stories about him in the media. — Michel Martin, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026 Attorney Barry Pollack contends that Maduro remained Venezuela’s head of state regardless of whether the United States considered his presidency legitimate. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026 Beyond senior leadership changes, Jung contends that Phillips should position itself as a cultural club rather than just a salesroom to keep momentum and not to always rely on internal star players. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 2 Sep. 2026 The disclosure contends that, because of the new procedures, a single scanning error in a batch of tens of thousands of ballot envelopes could prevent any from reaching voters. — Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 In this case, courts have considered other factors, such as low barriers to entry, Paramount contends. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026 Summary This article contends that inflation management is not, and never has been, the Federal Reserve's core responsibility. — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contends

Verb

The system is also intended to address situations where infrastructure competes with places that have historical, architectural or tourism value.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Amongst the crowd was Lee Brockhouse, 48, who also competes in amateur strongman events with a personal best of 455kg in the deadlift.

— Rob Tanner, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of competes

Verb

An audit team, Chiodo argues, needs expertise that mirrors the development team, role for role.

— Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
Paula Goldman, Salesforce’s chief ethical and humane use officer, argues there’s currently a big opportunity to redesign work around the complementary strengths of humans and AI.

— Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of argues

Verb

The university is also facing a separate federal lawsuit filed in February by a student accused of using artificial intelligence to write papers, who alleges the university disciplined them without a fair process.

— DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
She was sent home with a blood glucose monitor and instructions to follow up pre-natal care, the lawsuit alleges.

— Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of alleges

Verb

De Paula asserts himself with a confident shake of the head after each pitch outside the strike zone.

— Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Javi Borges, global Americas media and entertainment sector leader for accounting and consulting giant EY, asserts that entertainment companies need to also understand the sea change that is afoot in consumer tastes for leisure-time pursuits.

— Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of asserts

Verb

And Variety executive editor for TV Michael Schneider, who broke the news about the Emmys heading to Prime Video, insists the buzz at Monday’s Emmys after-parties wasn’t nearly as negative as the online response.

— Josef Adalian, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
For all the accolades, Long insists the work was never about fame.

— Clayton Davis, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of insists

Verb

Bean provided all the documents the university requested in May 2025 before he was denied, the lawsuit claims.

— DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
Tensions continued to rise between Filippi and Kettle over disagreements about operations and budget, the suit claims.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026