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
-
Anderson has countersued and accused Burkle of smearing his reputation amid a separate business dispute.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Burkle alleges that Anderson stopped paying him in 2014 after becoming angry with him over an unspecified personal dispute, the complaint states.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Khimberly’s death brings additional scrutiny to LAUSD at a time when the district is already entangled in other controversies.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Regardless of the controversy, related technologies are rapidly entering industrial deployment.—
,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
The debate was framed by a series of incidents in recent years in which the local Police Department was accused of profiling Black people.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The size of the divide appeared significant during Thursday's debate.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In human relationships, empathy often involves recognizing differences, navigating disagreement, and testing assumptions about reality.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
7 Mar. 2026
-
When disagreements arise, acknowledge everyone’s different points of view before jumping to defend your ideas.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contestation. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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