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
What supplies all these events with a sense of approaching a precipice is the open contestation between pro- and anti-democratic forces, happening both here and abroad, in view of each other.
—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
That makes some of these contestations existential, particularly for smaller combatants.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 12 Jan. 2026
Indeed, the existence of avenues for contestation is in the very nature of competitive authoritarianism.
—Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 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
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
That makes some of these contestations existential, particularly for smaller combatants.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 12 Jan. 2026
Indeed, the existence of avenues for contestation is in the very nature of competitive authoritarianism.
—Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 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
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contestation
Noun
-
The unresolved regulatory boundaries have led to numerous legal disputes with the states and tribes that regulate and tax gambling.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
24 Apr. 2026
-
This week, the dispute between The Deb actress Charlotte MacInnes and its director, Rebel Wilson, spilled into the Federal Court in Australia, and Jake has been tracking the story.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Chavez-DeRemer’s departure came as several controversies were surrounding her, her office and her family members.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The all-gender bathrooms have been a source of controversy for some conservatives.—
Jack Harvel
April 20,
Kansas City Star,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This did not, however, mark the end of disputation concerning the Northwest Angle.—
Scott Spires,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
That debate intensified this March, when city officials outlined multiple options for restructuring the city’s approach to homelessness, including maintaining LAHSA with reforms, shifting responsibilities to the county, or bringing more programs in-house.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Neither Thurmond nor Villaraigosa qualified for the latest debate because of their low polling numbers.—
Grace Hase,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Massie came to Congress as a spending hawk, and more than a decade later, that remains his signature issue and the source of many of his disagreements with GOP leaders.—
Russell Berman,
The Atlantic,
25 Apr. 2026
-
And the choices may provoke some disagreement.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contestation. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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