- [uncountable] anger between people who disagree synonym dispute
- One area of contention is the availability of nursery care.
- Privatization of the health service remains a point of contention.
- There is no contention between the two groups.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- play-off
- title
- contention between
- an area of contention
- a bone of contention
- a point of contention
- …
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- [countable] contention (that…) a belief or an opinion that you express, especially in an argument
- It is our client's contention that the fire was an accident.
- I would reject that contention.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumentc1- Her main contention is that staff should get better training.
- There is no evidence to support her contention.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- main
- support
- dispute
- reject
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin contentio(n-), from contendere ‘strive with’, from con- ‘with’ + tendere ‘stretch, strive’.
Idioms
See contention in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee contention in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englisha bone of contention
- a subject that causes people to disagree
- Where to go on holiday is always a bone of contention in our family.
in contention (for something)
- with a chance of winning something
- Only three teams are now in contention for the title.
Extra Examples- There were three left in serious contention for the prize.
- Their team is still in contention for the championship
out of contention (for something)
- without a chance of winning something
- The Jaguars are now out of contention.
Check pronunciation:
contention