con·ten·tious
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Audio Help [kuh
n-ten-shuh
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| 1. | tending to argument or strife; quarrelsome: a contentious crew. |
| 2. | causing, involving, or characterized by argument or controversy: contentious issues. |
| 3. | Law. pertaining to causes between contending parties. |
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME contenciose < L contentiōsus, equiv. to contenti(ō) contention + -ōsus -ous
]
] —Related forms
con·ten·tious·ly, adverb
con·ten·tious·ness, noun
—Synonyms 1. disputatious, argumentative.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
contentious
To learn more about contentious visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| con·ten·tious
Audio Help (kən-těn'shəs) Pronunciation Key
adj.
con·ten'tious·ly adv., con·ten'tious·ness n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| contentious | |
adjective | |
| 1. | inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits; "a style described as abrasive and contentious"; "a disputatious lawyer"; "a litigious and acrimonious spirit" |
| 2. | involving or likely to cause controversy; "a central and contentious element of the book"- Tim W.Ferfuson |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
conˈtentious [-ʃəs] adjective
quarrelsome
See also: contender, contention, contend
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Contentious
Con*ten"tious\, a. [L. contentiosus: cf. F. contentieux.]1. Fond of contention; given to angry debate; provoking dispute or contention; quarrelsome. Despotic and contentious temper. --Macaulay. 2. Relating to contention or strife; involving or characterized by contention. --Spenser. More cheerful, though not less contentious, regions. --Brougham. 3. (Law) Contested; litigated; litigious; having power to decide controversy. Contentious jurisdiction (Eng. Eccl. Law), jurisdiction over matters in controversy between parties, in contradistinction to voluntary jurisdiction, or that exercised upon matters not opposed or controverted. Syn: Quarrelsome; pugnacious; dissentious; wrangling; litigious; perverse; peevish. -- Con*ten"tious*ly, adv. -- Con*ten"tious*ness, n.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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