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Contend synonyms

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contest
To struggle or compete; contend:
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  1. To struggle or compete; contend:
  2. To call into question and take an active stand against; dispute or challenge:
  3. To contend; struggle (with or against)
battle
To struggle; contend
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  1. To struggle; contend
  2. To take part in a battle; fight
  3. To engage in or as if in battle.
dispute
To quarrel angrily.
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  1. To quarrel angrily.
  2. To strive to gain or win; struggle over:
  3. To engage in discussion or argument; debate.
battle
To take part in a battle; fight
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  1. To take part in a battle; fight
  2. To oppose as in a battle; fight
  3. To struggle; contend
combat
To act or work in order to eliminate, curtail, or stop:
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  1. To act or work in order to eliminate, curtail, or stop:
  2. To oppose in battle; fight against.
  3. To engage in fighting; contend or struggle.
duel
To engage (another) in or as if in formal combat.
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  1. To engage (another) in or as if in formal combat.
  2. To oppose actively and forcefully.
  3. To fight a duel with (a person or persons)
fight
To wage or carry on (a battle).
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  1. To wage or carry on (a battle).
  2. To contend with or oppose with violence or in battle.
  3. To engage in or carry on (a war, conflict, case, etc.)
struggle
To exert muscular energy, as against a material force or mass:
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  1. To exert muscular energy, as against a material force or mass:
  2. To move or place (something) with an effort:
  3. To contend or fight violently with an opponent
tilt
To dispute, argue, contend, attack, etc.
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  1. To dispute, argue, contend, attack, etc.
  2. To cause to be advantageous to one party rather than another:
  3. To engage in a combat or struggle; fight:
war
To wage or carry on warfare.
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  1. To wage or carry on warfare.
  2. To be in a state of hostility or rivalry; contend.
  3. To carry on war; engage in military conflict
wrestle
To move, lift, maneuver, etc. with great physical effort
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  1. To move, lift, maneuver, etc. with great physical effort
  2. To struggle (with a problem, an opposing force, etc.)
  3. To struggle or fight with by wrestling; wrestle with
compete
To strive against another or others to attain a goal, such as an advantage or victory.
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  1. To strive against another or others to attain a goal, such as an advantage or victory.
  2. To enter into, or be in, rivalry; contend; vie
contest
To call into question and take an active stand against; dispute or challenge:
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  1. To call into question and take an active stand against; dispute or challenge:
  2. To struggle or compete; contend:
  3. To contend; struggle (with or against)
emulate
To compete with successfully; approach or attain equality with.
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  1. To compete with successfully; approach or attain equality with.
  2. To strive to equal or excel, especially through imitation:
  3. To rival successfully
rival
To equal in some way; be a match for
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  1. To equal in some way; be a match for
  2. (Archaic) To try to equal or surpass; compete with
  3. (Archaic) To be a rival; compete (with)
vie
(Intransitive) To rival; to struggle for superiority; to contend; to compete eagerly so as to gain something.
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  1. (Intransitive) To rival; to struggle for superiority; to contend; to compete eagerly so as to gain something.
  2. To do or produce in emulation, competition, or rivalry; to put in competition; to bandy.
  3. To stake a sum of money upon a hand of cards, as in the old game of gleek. See revie.
argue
To put forth reasons for or against something:
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  1. To put forth reasons for or against something:
  2. To give reasons for and against; discuss; debate
  3. To have a disagreement; quarrel; dispute
debate
To dispute about, esp. in a meeting or legislature
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  1. To dispute about, esp. in a meeting or legislature
  2. To discuss or argue (a question, for example) formally.
  3. To dispute or argue about.
dispute
To argue or debate (a question); discuss pro and con
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  1. To argue or debate (a question); discuss pro and con
  2. To engage in discussion or argument; debate.
  3. To argue; debate
moot
To render (a legal issue or question) irrelevant.
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  1. To render (a legal issue or question) irrelevant.
  2. To discuss or debate:
  3. To bring up (a subject) for discussion or debate.
argue
To try to prove by giving reasons; maintain; contend
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  1. To try to prove by giving reasons; maintain; contend
  2. To put forth reasons for or against something:
  3. To engage in a quarrel; dispute.
bicker
To move or flow with a rippling or gurgling sound.
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  1. To move or flow with a rippling or gurgling sound.
  2. To engage in a bad-tempered quarrel, often in a petty manner over something trivial; squabble.
  3. To have a petty quarrel; squabble
dispute
To quarrel angrily.
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  1. To quarrel angrily.
  2. To engage in discussion or argument; debate.
  3. To argue; debate
fight
To take part in a physical struggle or battle; struggle
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  1. To take part in a physical struggle or battle; struggle
  2. To struggle or work hard in trying to beat or overcome someone or something; contend
  3. To argue or quarrel; dispute
quarrel
To find fault or disagree:
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  1. To find fault or disagree:
  2. To have a heated dispute or disagreement, often, specif., with a resultant breach in friendship
  3. To engage in a quarrel; dispute angrily.
quibble
To argue or find fault over trivial matters or minor concerns; cavil.
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  1. To argue or find fault over trivial matters or minor concerns; cavil.
  2. To evade the truth of a point under discussion by caviling; resort to a quibble
spat
To engage in a brief quarrel.
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  1. To engage in a brief quarrel.
  2. To strike with a quick, slapping sound
  3. (Informal) To engage in a spat, or quarrel
squabble
To quarrel noisily over a small matter; wrangle
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  1. To quarrel noisily over a small matter; wrangle
  2. To engage in a bad-tempered argument, often over a trivial matter; bicker.
.tiff
(Obsolete) To deck out; to dress.
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  1. (Obsolete) To deck out; to dress.
  2. Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
  3. To quarrel.
wrangle
To manage or control (something, especially an animal), as on a movie set:
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  1. To manage or control (something, especially an animal), as on a movie set:
  2. To attempt to deal with or understand something; contend or struggle:
  3. To argue; dispute
hassle
To argue or fight:
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  1. To argue or fight:
  2. To annoy, harass, etc.
  3. To have a hassle
tangle
To be or become entangled.
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  1. To be or become entangled.
  2. To involve in a complicated situation or in circumstances from which it is difficult to disengage:
  3. (Informal) To fight, quarrel, or argue
affirm
To declare positively; assert to be true:
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  1. To declare positively; assert to be true:
  2. To assert that one will give true testimony equivalent to that which would be given while under oath.
  3. To say positively; declare firmly; assert to be true
allege
(Archaic) To bring forward as an authority.
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  1. (Archaic) To bring forward as an authority.
  2. To assert to be true; affirm:
  3. To state (a plea or excuse, for example) in support or denial of a claim or accusation:
argue
To put forth reasons for or against something:
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  1. To put forth reasons for or against something:
  2. To attempt to prove by reasoning; maintain or contend:
  3. To try to prove by giving reasons; maintain; contend
assert
To maintain or defend (rights, claims, etc.)
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  1. To maintain or defend (rights, claims, etc.)
  2. To defend or maintain (one's rights, for example).
  3. To state or express positively; affirm:
aver
To affirm positively; declare:
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  1. To affirm positively; declare:
  2. To formally assert as a fact, such as in a pleading; to allege. To formally assert as a fact, such as in a pleading; to allege.
  3. To declare to be true; state positively; affirm
avouch
To acknowledge openly; avow
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  1. To acknowledge openly; avow
  2. To declare the truth of; assert; affirm
  3. To accept responsibility for (an action, for example); acknowledge.
avow
To declare openly or admit frankly
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  1. To declare openly or admit frankly
  2. To acknowledge or claim (oneself) to be
  3. To state positively; declare:
claim
To demand or ask for as rightfully belonging or due to one; assert one's right to (a title, accomplishment, etc. that should be recognized)
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  1. To demand or ask for as rightfully belonging or due to one; assert one's right to (a title, accomplishment, etc. that should be recognized)
  2. To demand, ask for, or take as one's own or one's due:
  3. To state as a fact or as one's belief (something that may be called into question); assert
declare
To make clearly known; state or announce openly, formally, etc.
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  1. To make clearly known; state or announce openly, formally, etc.
  2. To say positively or emphatically
  3. To state openly a choice, opinion, etc. (for or against)
hold
To maintain a desired or accustomed position or condition:
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  1. To maintain a desired or accustomed position or condition:
  2. To stop the movement or progress of:
  3. To carry or support (the body or a bodily part) in a certain position:
maintain
To declare to be true; affirm:
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  1. To declare to be true; affirm:
  2. To defend or hold against criticism or attack:
  3. To keep in an existing state; preserve or retain:
say
To state as a determination of fact:
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  1. To state as a determination of fact:
  2. For instance:
  3. To express in words; state; declare; tell
state
To express or present in a nonverbal way
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  1. To express or present in a nonverbal way
  2. To set forth in words; declare.
  3. To set forth in words, esp. in a specific, definite, or formal way
Find another word for contend. In this page you can discover 59 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for contend, like: contest, battle, dispute, fight, quarrel, battle, combat, duel, fight, struggle and tilt.

Sentence Examples

  • The new governor had great difficulties to contend with.

  • The system of having one canal overlapping another has one difficulty to contend with.

  • Her foreign policy was as consistent as it could be considering the forces she had to contend against.

  • I like to contend with wind and wave.

  • He had to contend against a strong peace party in Holland the Spaniards sheltered themselves under the English Downs by the side of an English squadron.

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Words that mention contend in the Dictionary

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