contentious Hear it!

contentious Definition

con·ten·tious (kən tens̸həs)

adjective

  1. always ready to argue; quarrelsome
  2. of or marked by contention
  3. provoking or likely to provoke controversy a contentious proposal

Etymology: ME contencios < L contentiosus: see contention

contentious Related Forms

con·ten·tiously adverb con·ten·tious·ness noun

contentious Synonyms

contentious

modif.

contentious Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • politically: Extra time is, however, undoubtedly useful to improve the quality of " technical " drafting which is not politically contentious.
  • potentially: However, large or potentially contentious applications are decided by panels of councilors.
  • highly: Hunting with hounds is a highly contentious subject of great interest to people who live in rural areas.
  • somewhat: Finally, some thought needs to be given to the somewhat contentious issue of assessment time.
  • particularly: Age has been a particularly contentious issue for social workers.
  • increasingly: What is being done to address this increasingly contentious internet issue?

Modifies a noun

  • probate: Wills, Probate & Contested probate Advice on wills, probate, administration and contested wills and contentious probate.
  • parade: The police could refer any notice of a contentious parade to a tribunal.
  • issue: Animal testing has been a contentious issue for decades.
  • matter: Projects related to hobbies or to contentious campus matters seem to be very popular.
  • debate: Such a prospect is almost certain to fuel the already contentious debate over the use of genetically modified crops.
  • topic: But why are these two contentious topics so often thrown together?

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: It will prove most contentious to the Labor Party itself.
  • remain: The only area that remains contentious in that context is the debate on the Welsh language.
  • become: A division of share rights agreements becomes contentious where the target company's country has a domestic CGT regime.
  • seem: The remaining detail of the document doesn't seem contentious.
  • find: At this point he hasn't appealed to God or made claims that even most atheists would find contentious.
  • appear: Points in the draft that we view as helpful may appear contentious to some of them.

Preposition: in

  • context: The only area that remains contentious in that context is the debate on the Welsh language.
  • quarter: It does appear to have been particularly contentious in some quarters.