contention
noun
Simple meaning
Argument, contest, debate, strife.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhntehnshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kənˈtɛnʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.
A point asserted as part of an argument
A point maintained in an argument, or a line of argument taken in its support; the subject matter of discussion of strife; a position taken or contended for.
computingtelecommunications
Competition by parts of a system or its users for a limited resource.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.
Used this way, contention is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use contention
- “The teams were in fierce contention for first place.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
The act of contesting.
A debate or discussion of opposing opinions.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The subject of a dispute.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: argument or contest or debate or strife or struggle
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “contention” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.