as in dispute
variance of opinion on a matter
the statement is certainly open to contestation among reasonable people
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Example Sentences
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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
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NewJeans, one of the most exciting and innovative recent K-pop groups, has been largely inactive since 2024 due to a baroque legal dispute with the HYBE subsidiary ADOR.—
Mitch Therieau,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
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Last month, Boulee directed Fulton County and the Justice Department to mediate the dispute instead of going to court, but that mediation failed, Boulee said, resulting in Friday's hearing.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Fundraising for the project through private donations also drew controversy.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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The controversy surrounding the North Natomas micro-community comes amid a heated re-election campaign for Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, who represents the area.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 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
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Abbott, Patrick brawl over complete ban The debate over a complete ban on THC was one of the most high-profile issues in the Texas Legislature's regular session last year.—
Steven Rosenbaum,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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At its core, this debate is a value judgment about what belongs in a basic high school education.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The dynamic left senators convinced that the deal was the only way to move past their disagreements and reopen the Homeland Security Department.—
Stephen Groves,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
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The goal is not to manufacture disagreement.—
Jane Sadowsky,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contestation. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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