contentious
English · Thesaurus
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contentious
- /kənˈtɛn.ʃəs/
Rhymes with -ɛnʃəs
Where it comes from
From Middle French contentieux, from Latin contentiōsus (“quarrelsome, perverse”), from contentiō (“contention”), from contendere, past participle contentus (“to contend”). Equivalent to English contention + -ous.
adjective more contentious · most contentious
- Marked by heated arguments or controversy. Ukraine, however, will complain long and hard about a contentious second-half incident when Marko Devic's shot clearly crossed the line before it was scrambled away by John Terry, only for the officials to remain unmoved.
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Given to struggling with others out of jealousy or discord.
She was not a contentious person as the Other had been; she did not argue and contradict everything I said.
Similar: agonistic, argumentative, bangsome, bellicose, belligerent, contentious, debateful, discordant, disputatious, disputative, factious, fractious
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: controversial, disputative, disputatious, aggressive, combative, battleful, bellicose, argumentative, litigious, dispute, contested, controversy, polemic, polemical, conflictual, conflictive
Translations
Every language
adj marked by controversy
| Español | controvertido, polémico, contencioso |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 有爭議 /有争议 yǒuzhēngyì |
| Português | controverso |
| Français | controversé |
| Deutsch | umstritten, strittig, kontrovers |
| Italiano | controverso |
| Русский | дискуссионный diskussionnyj, спо́рный spórnyj |
| العربية | مُثِير لِلْجَدَل muṯīr liljadal |
adj given to struggling
| Español | conflictivo, pendenciero, camorrista, belicoso, provocador |
|---|---|
| Português | conflituoso |
| Français | belliqueux, agressif, provocateur, combatif, batailleur, bagarreur |
| Deutsch | streitsüchtig, streitbar, zänkisch, provokativ, streitlustig |
| Italiano | bellicoso, aggressivo, provocatore |
| Русский | вздорный vzdornyj, придирчивый pridirčivyj, любящий спо́рить ljubjaščij spóritʹ |
Talk about this word "contentious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/contentious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. contentious. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/contentious "contentious." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/contentious.Cite this
@misc{contentious_2026,
title = {contentious},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/contentious},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
