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contention

[ kuhn-ten-shuhn ]
/ kənˈtɛn ʃən /
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noun
a struggling together in opposition; strife.
a striving in rivalry; competition; contest.
strife in debate; dispute; controversy.
a point contended for or affirmed in controversy.
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Origin of contention

1350–1400; Middle English (<Anglo-French ) <Latin contentiƍn- (stem of contentiƍ), equivalent to content(us), past participle of contendere to contend (con-con- + tentus, variant of tēnsus;see tense1) + -iƍn--ion

OTHER WORDS FROM contention

con·ten·tion·al, adjectivenon·con·ten·tion, nounpre·con·ten·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use contention in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for contention

contention
/ (kənˈtɛnʃən) /

noun
a struggling between opponents; competition
dispute in an argument (esp in the phrase bone of contention)
a point asserted in argument

Word Origin for contention

C14: from Latin contentiƍ exertion, from contendere to contend
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with contention

contention

see bone of contention.

The American HeritageŸ Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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