as in dispute
variance of opinion on a matter
the statement is certainly open to contestation among reasonable people
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Recent Examples of contestation
Indeed, the existence of avenues for contestation is in the very nature of competitive authoritarianism.
—
Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2025
Indeed, data on three key dimensions of democracy shows that electoral contestation, voter participation and executive constraints have all declined significantly in Guinea-Bissau since.
—John Joseph Chin, The Conversation, 1 Dec. 2025
The study spatializes the socio-cultural haunting of Indigenous and colonial histories and demonstrates how public spaces can be sites of democratic contestation and negotiation.
—JSTOR Daily, 14 Nov. 2025
Here, then, is a second axis of contestation around negative emissions technologies: intersecting with late technopower is late value form.
—Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2025
Indeed, data on three key dimensions of democracy shows that electoral contestation, voter participation and executive constraints have all declined significantly in Guinea-Bissau since.
—John Joseph Chin, The Conversation, 1 Dec. 2025
The study spatializes the socio-cultural haunting of Indigenous and colonial histories and demonstrates how public spaces can be sites of democratic contestation and negotiation.
—JSTOR Daily, 14 Nov. 2025
Here, then, is a second axis of contestation around negative emissions technologies: intersecting with late technopower is late value form.
—Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contestation
Noun
-
The ruling advances Chiles toward resolving a dispute marked by errors that cost her the floor exercise bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Games.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The company added programmers’ streaming applications in Spectrum’s expanded basic packages to lower churn and had a slight bump in signups when Disney channels were unavailable for YouTube TV subscribers during a recent carriage dispute.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The controversy began at the end of a planning and zoning meeting last Thursday, when the council member raised concerns about Border Patrol agents stopping people in the community.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The other new entries are DSquared2 (which featured a hot celebrity) and Dolce & Gabbana (which generated heated controversy for its model casting).—
Luke Leitch,
Vogue,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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According to him, advances in machine learning have yanked questions once trapped inside theological/philosophical disputations into corporate board packs.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Aug. 2025
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Jake is a single father who has brought Kristen up in the severe Calvinist tradition, marked by Bible disputations of Talmudic intricacy and by a radical detachment from secular and popular culture.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2023
Noun
-
Ruhe said the debate reflects lessons learned from nearly two years of war.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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The Fulton County episode and Hanaway’s lawsuit underscore the broader national debate over how elections are conducted, counted, and challenged.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The episode has punctured Preckwinkle’s reputation for managerial skill — a primary reason this page has endorsed her in previous elections despite some disagreements with other aspects of her record.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Jan. 2026
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Trump has demanded a resolution to the two countries’ long-standing disagreements about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.—
Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contestation. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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