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Another word for contend

a-z
Verb

  1. To strive in opposition

      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
      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
      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:
      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
      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.)
      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)
      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.
      1. To take part in a battle; fight
      2. To oppose as in a battle; fight
      3. To struggle; contend
    See also:

    conflict

  2. To strive against (others) for victory

    See also:

    conflict

  3. To put forth reasons for or against something, often excitedly

      1. To render (a legal issue or question) irrelevant.
      2. To debate or discuss
      3. To bring up (a subject) for discussion or debate.
      1. To argue or debate (a question); discuss pro and con
      2. To engage in discussion or argument; debate.
      3. To argue; debate
      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.
      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
    See also:

    words

    affirm

  4. To engage in a quarrel

      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
      1. To argue or fight:
      2. To annoy, harass, etc.
      3. To have a hassle
      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
      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.
      1. To quarrel noisily over a small matter; wrangle
      2. To engage in a bad-tempered argument, often over a trivial matter; bicker.
      1. To engage in a brief quarrel.
      2. To strike with a quick, slapping sound
      3. (Informal) To engage in a spat, or quarrel
      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
      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.
      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
      1. To quarrel angrily.
      2. To engage in discussion or argument; debate.
      3. To argue; debate
      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
      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.
    Idioms:
    See also:

    conflict

  5. To put into words positively and with conviction

      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
      1. To state as a determination of fact:
      2. For instance:
      3. To express in words; state; declare; tell
      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:
      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:
      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)
      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
      1. To declare openly or admit frankly
      2. To acknowledge or claim (oneself) to be
      3. To state positively; declare:
      1. To acknowledge openly; avow
      2. To declare the truth of; assert; affirm
      3. To accept responsibility for (an action, for example); acknowledge.
      1. To affirm positively; declare:
      2. (Law) To assert formally as a fact.
      3. To declare to be true; state positively; affirm
      1. To declare earnestly, seriously, or positively; to affirm.
      2. To state seriously or positively; assert
      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:
      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
      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:
      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
    Idioms:
    See also:

    affirm

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for contend

Verb
  1. See also:

    quarrel

    fight

© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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.

  • 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.

  • I like to contend with wind and wave.

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Words that mention contend in the Dictionary

Words near contend in the Thesaurus