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
After the conclusion of one set of political contestations, new challenges emerge: after World War II came the Cold War, for example.
—
Jonathan Kirshner, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2025
After Germany occupied Norway in 1940 and Adolf Hitler’s troops invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Svalbard became a key point of military contestation.
—James Patton Rogers & Caroline Kennedy Pipe / Made By History , TIME, 23 Jan. 2025
What that does is take these decisions out of the space of democratic contestation.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2025
His book outlines the dominance of white masculinity in presidential politics since the birth of our nation, and the ways in contestations over masculinity are evident in its most prominent political contests.
—Kelly Dittmar, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Jonathan Kirshner, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2025
After Germany occupied Norway in 1940 and Adolf Hitler’s troops invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Svalbard became a key point of military contestation.
—James Patton Rogers & Caroline Kennedy Pipe / Made By History , TIME, 23 Jan. 2025
What that does is take these decisions out of the space of democratic contestation.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2025
His book outlines the dominance of white masculinity in presidential politics since the birth of our nation, and the ways in contestations over masculinity are evident in its most prominent political contests.
—Kelly Dittmar, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contestation
Noun
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The simmering dispute comes as protesters showed up at Dodger Stadium on Thursday to decry Dodgers’ silence amidst immigration raids and unrest in Los Angeles.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
21 June 2025
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News to Know Wisconsin lawsuit accuses Miami of tampering In the latest legal dispute amid the changing landscape of college sports, the University of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami yesterday for allegedly tampering with a football player.—
and Alex Kirshner,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Noun
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The original, shot by Bryce Anderson, drew a lot of attention and controversy, with many critiquing the image as a provocative and degrading towards women.—
Thania Garcia,
Variety,
25 June 2025
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Red Bull team boss Christian Horner revealed what has changed in Formula 1 over his 20 years in the sport amid the sport's drama and controversies.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Noun
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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
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Seven decades later, this culture of disputation emerged as a central theme in Timothy Garton Ash’s The Magic Lantern, his eyewitness report on the Eastern European revolutions of 1989.—
Susie Linfield,
The New York Review of Books,
11 May 2022
Noun
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The legislation now moves to 20 hours of marathon debate, evenly divided between both parties, with Democrats expected to use their full allotment while Republicans plan to use only a few hours.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 June 2025
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The Senate is set to launch an hours-long debate June 28 that should culminate with a vote in which Democrats are all expected to vote no.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
Noun
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Though the talks fell apart over disagreements on what measures North Korea would take toward disarmament and Trump’s reluctance to offer sanctions relief, the summits ended on a surprisingly hopeful note, with the two leaders walking away as pen pals.—
Max Kim,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
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For decades, Kahneman and Gary Klein, a psychologist who researches naturalistic decision-making, had a running disagreement about whether human intuition could be trusted.—
Gabriel Snyder,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contestation. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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