CONTENTIOUS Synonyms: 169 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'contentious' distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of contentious are bellicose , belligerent , pugnacious , and quarrelsome . While all these words mean "having an aggressive or fighting attitude," contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling. // wearied by his contentious disposition

Q: When would 'bellicose' be a good substitute for 'contentious'?

The meanings of bellicose and contentious largely overlap; however, bellicose suggests a disposition to fight. // a drunk in a bellicose mood

Q: When could 'belligerent' be used to replace 'contentious'?

While the synonyms belligerent and contentious are close in meaning, belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities. // belligerent nations

Q: When can 'pugnacious' be used instead of 'contentious'?

In some situations, the words pugnacious and contentious are roughly equivalent. However, pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat. // a pugnacious gangster

Q: In what contexts can 'quarrelsome' take the place of 'contentious'?

The synonyms quarrelsome and contentious are sometimes interchangeable, but quarrelsome stresses an ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause. // the heat made us all quarrelsome

contentious

adjective

kən-ˈten(t)-shəs

Definition of contentious

as in aggressive

feeling or displaying eagerness to fight the Tartars were a contentious people who terrorized much of Asia and eastern Europe during the Middle Ages

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in controversial

given to arguing a tiresomely contentious person who likes to argue for the sake of arguing

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as in difficult

relating to or causing the expression of opposing opinions gun control is likely to be a contentious subject in any group discussion

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word contentious distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of contentious are bellicose, belligerent, pugnacious, and quarrelsome. While all these words mean "having an aggressive or fighting attitude," contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling.

wearied by his contentious disposition

When would bellicose be a good substitute for contentious?

The meanings of bellicose and contentious largely overlap; however, bellicose suggests a disposition to fight.

a drunk in a bellicose mood

When could belligerent be used to replace contentious?

While the synonyms belligerent and contentious are close in meaning, belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities.

belligerent nations

When can pugnacious be used instead of contentious?

In some situations, the words pugnacious and contentious are roughly equivalent. However, pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat.

a pugnacious gangster

In what contexts can quarrelsome take the place of contentious?

The synonyms quarrelsome and contentious are sometimes interchangeable, but quarrelsome stresses an ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause.

the heat made us all quarrelsome

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 contentious The call for new information is highly unusual and reflects the complexity of the water rule, a contentious regulation that has been argued in the courts for decades and reached the Supreme Court twice since 2006. — Matthew Daly, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 Out of nowhere, the Western Michigan-Michigan game became one of the most contentious finishes in recent memory, with replay review adding an additional second to the fourth quarter after the game had seemingly ended. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026 The path Attorney General Sunday has now opened may prove long and contentious, but the TikTok suit could come to be seen as the beginning of an important new layer of public protection against compulsion-inducing product design. — Jonathan Caulkins, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2026 The county has faced two challenges to contentious changes the Republican commissioners sought to make to the process, only seeing resolution late last week. — John Aguilar, Denver Post, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for contentious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contentious

Adjective

Andersen in particular has struggled with such an aggressive role, where recovery pace and stomping channel defending are required to keep the shape.

— Thom Harris, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Brown has two catches that converted third downs into firsts, providing a release valve against some aggressive Seahawks blitzes.

— Andrew Greif, NBC news, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of aggressive

Adjective

So … when will the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard finally join the Toronto Raptors and put an end to his controversial Clippers tenure?

— Law Murray, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Another user also criticized the company in a Microsoft Learn article, and pointed to Harry Potter author JK Rowling and her controversial views on transgender people.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of controversial

Adjective

Being undefeated after a trio of difficult opening matches can only be seen as a positive, even if Newcastle’s obvious shortcomings require addressing if that run is to be prolonged.

— Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Engineers need flight data on propulsion, aerodynamics, thermal management, guidance and other subsystems under conditions that are difficult to reproduce on the ground.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of difficult

Adjective

Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in 2003, accused of developing and directing the 9/11 attacks, as a leader of the Islamic militant group Al Qaeda.

— Larry Neumeister, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
The militant group is now likely to be even more maximalist in its demands and in its ambitions to assert control across the Red Sea.

— April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of militant

Adjective

Even so, the film’s gaze is more anthropological than polemical, especially given the faux-doc vibe created by its abundant handheld camerawork, seemingly filmed sometimes by the actors themselves.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026
Now, in the 1500s and 1600s, that phrase was often used by Catholics in their polemical war against Protestants.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 1 July 2026

Definition of polemical

Adjective

Terrorism wasn’t a completely foreign concept, but the notion of a hostile, coordinated attack on our soil, at that scale, seemed like something that might only happen in a Tom Clancy novel or a summer blockbuster movie.

— Michael Silver, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Now, civil engineer Jishen Qiu and his team wondered if engineers could exploit Mars’s hostile climate, rather than fighting the planet’s extremely low temperature.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of hostile

Adjective

There seems to be something confrontational about each of these movies, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Since taking over in March, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has pivoted from the confrontational style of immigration enforcement of his predecessor, Kristi Noem.

— Vanessa Romo, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of confrontational

Adjective

Earlier in the day, UAE Team Emirates’ Kevin Vermaerke once again made his way into the day’s breakaway, the 25-year-old American having proven himself one of the most combative riders in the race after team leader Tadej Pogačar’s withdrawal.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Suno, which has had a highly combative relationship with the music industry in recent years.

— Jem Aswad, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of combative

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“Contentious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contentious. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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