Contentious — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective /kən-ˈten(t)-shəs/ con·ten·tious

Meaning & Definition of Contentious

Contentious (adjective)

  1. likely to cause disagreement or argument
  2. exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes

Contentious (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. feeling or displaying eagerness to fight

    "the Tartars were a contentious people who terrorized much of Asia and eastern Europe during the Middle Ages"

    similar: aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, discordant, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike, on the warpath
    related: antagonistic, fierce, hostile, hot-tempered, acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, stroppy (British), surly, testy, touchy, ugly, waspish, savage, vicious, battling, fighting, warring
    opposite: nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious
    near: anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike, affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable, calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, tranquil, benign, gentle, kindly, mild

  2. given to arguing

    "a tiresomely contentious person who likes to argue for the sake of arguing"

    similar: argumentative, controversial, disputatious, polemical, quarrelsome, scrappy
    related: aggressive, bellicose, belligerent, combative, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, truculent, warlike, feisty, fractious, surly, balky, contrary, ornery, perverse, restive, wayward, disobedient, froward, insubordinate, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, hardheaded, headstrong, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, pigheaded, resistant, self-opinionated, self-willed, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, uncooperative, unreasonable, unyielding, willful, acidic, bearish, bilious, cantankerous, captious, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, peevish, pettish, petulant, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, splenetic, testy, touchy, waspish, battling, fighting, warring
    near: affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, pleasant, sociable, acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, complaisant, compliant, complying, conciliatory, cooperative, obliging, docile, obedient, submissive, tractable, pacific, peaceable, peaceful

  3. relating to or causing the expression of opposing opinions

    "gun control is likely to be a contentious subject in any group discussion"

    similar: argumentative, controversial, disputatious, hot-button, polemical
    related: delicate, difficult, knotty, problematic, spiny, thorny, ticklish, touchy, tough
    opposite: noncontroversial, safe, uncontroversial
    near: incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, undeniable, unquestionable, irrefutable, uncontested, undisputed

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Contentious

The most common words with a similar meaning to Contentious:

aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, discordant, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike, controversial, polemical, hot-button, on the warpath

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Contentious

Words with the opposite meaning of Contentious:

nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious, noncontroversial, safe, uncontroversial

Related Words for Contentious

antagonistic, fierce, hostile, hot-tempered, acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous

Near Antonyms of Contentious

anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike, affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable, calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, tranquil, benign, gentle, kindly, mild

Word Forms of Contentious

Derived words: contentiously (adverb), contentiousness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Contentious

Middle English contenciose "quarrelsome," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French contencieux "subject to disagreement," borrowed from Latin contentiōsus "persistent, obstinate, argumentative, quarrelsome," from contentiō "exertion, competition, contention" + -ōsus -ous

First known use: 15th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Contentious

Frequently Asked Questions about Contentious

What does "Contentious" mean?

"Contentious" means likely to cause disagreement or argument. As an adjective, it is defined as: likely to cause disagreement or argument. It has 3 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Contentious"?

Other words for "Contentious" include aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly and chippy. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Contentious" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Contentious"?

There are 106 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Contentious". Common alternatives include aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly, chippy, combative and confrontational.

What is the opposite of "Contentious"?

Antonyms of "Contentious" include nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative and uncontentious. Near antonyms include anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike and affable.

How do you use "Contentious" in a sentence?

Examples of "Contentious" in a sentence: "the Tartars were a contentious people who terrorized much of Asia and eastern Europe during the Middle Ages"; "a tiresomely contentious person who likes to argue for the sake of arguing"; "gun control is likely to be a contentious subject in any group discussion".

Is "Contentious" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Contentious" is an adjective.

Is "Contentious" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C2-level word, "Contentious" is typical of Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE), IELTS band 8.5–9.0, TOEFL iBT 114–120, PTE Academic 85–90. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Contentious"?

"Contentious" is pronounced /kən-ˈten(t)-shəs/ and divided into syllables as con·ten·tious.