Contend

Definition: Contend

Contend

Verb

1. Maintain or assert; "He contended that Communism had no future".

2. Have an argument about something.

3. To make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation; "They contested the outcome of the race".

4. Compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others.

5. Come to terms or deal successfully with; "We got by on just a gallon of gas"; "They made do on half a loaf of bread every day".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "contend" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Synonyms: Contend

Affirmation

Put forth, put forward; advance, allege, propose, propound, enunciate, broach, set forth, hold out, maintain, contend, pronounce, pretend.

Contention

Verb: contend; contest, strive, struggle, scramble, wrestle; spar, square; exchange blows, exchange fisticuffs; fib, justle, tussle, tilt, box, stave, fence; skirmish; pickeer; fight; (war); wrangle; (quarrel).

Contend; with, grapple with, engage with, close with, buckle with, bandy with, try conclusions with, have a brush; n. with, tilt with; encounter, fall foul of, pitch into, clapperclaw, run a tilt at; oppose; reluct.

Compete with, cope with, vie with, race with; outvie, emulate, rival; run a race; contend; for, stipulate for, stickle for; insist upon, make a point of.

Difficulty

Meet with difficulties; labor under difficulties; get into difficulties; plunge into difficulties; struggle with difficulties; contend with difficulties; grapple with difficulties; labor under a disadvantage; be in difficulty; Adjective:

Discord

Fall out, quarrel, dispute; litigate; controvert; (deny); squabble, wrangle, jangle, brangle, bicker, nag; spar; (contend); have words; n. with; fall foul of.

Opposition

Stem, breast, encounter; stem the tide, breast the tide, stem the current, stem the flood; buffet the waves; beat up against, make head against; grapple with; kick against the pricks; (resist); contend; do battle; (warfare) -with, do battle against.

Reasoning,

Contend, take one's stand upon, insist, lay stress on; infer.

Vindication

Advocate, defend, plead one's cause; stand up for, stick up for, speak up for; contend for, speak for; bear out, keep in countenance, support; plead say in defense; plead ignorance; confess and avoid, propugn, put in a good word for.

Warfare

Verb: arm; raise troops, mobilize troops; raise up in arms; take up the cudgels; take up arms, fly to arms, appeal to arms, fly to the sword; draw the sword, unsheathe the sword; dig up the hatchet, dig up the tomahawk; go to war, wage war, 'let slip the dogs of war'; cry havoc; kindle the torch of war, light the torch of war; raise one's banner, raise the fire cross; hoist the black flag; throw away, fling away the scabbard; enroll, enlist; take the field; take the law into one's own hands; do battle, give battle, join battle, engage in battle, go to battle; flesh one's sword; set to, fall to, engage, measure swords with, draw the trigger, cross swords; come to blows, come to close quarters; fight; combat; contend; battle with, break a lance with.

Crosswords: Contend

You did not seriously think that a hobbit could contend with the will of Sauron, there are none that can. (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; writing credit: Frances Walsh)

Name three things the Knicks need to do to contend. (Sports Night; writing credit: Tom Brady; Kevin Falls)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Doughherty Contend Theories Intl Relations, Art International (reference)

• Earnestly Contend For the Faith (reference)

• Marlon Brando: The Only Contend (reference)

• The Mom Factor: Dealing With the Mother You Have, Didn't Have, or Still Contend With (reference)

• Too Wise To Be Mistaken, Too Good To Be Unkind : Christian Parents Contend With Autism (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Four wealthy towers contend for Homer dead (?) through which the living Homer begged his bread. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

But if I might advise them in the case, they would do well not to search too much into the original of governments, as they have begun de facto, lest they should find, at the foundation of most of them, something very little favourable to the design they promote, and such a power as they contend for. (Second Treatise of Government)

The plaintiffs contend that segregated public schools are not "equal" and cannot be made "equal," and that hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

What I contend for is the authenticity of the outline

Insurrection and repression do not contend with equal arms

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Beyond the care burdens associated with ADRD, these patients present special problems in developing a rational approach to care. Caregiving burdens are exacerbated by the nature of the disease, especially for informal caregivers, who often must contend with intimate relations with people who are cognitively deteriorating with no obvious concomitant physical signs. (references)

Business

Additionally, some contend that it has become too large and bureaucratic, and that the state commissions are ineffectual. (references)

South African schools additionally have to contend with poor infrastructure and provisions of classrooms (particularly in the rural areas). (references)

Scientology has come under increasing scrutiny by both federal and state officials who contend that it is not a religion but an economic enterprise. (references)

Children

Philippines

However, advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities contend that the law has been ineffective because implementing regulations are weak, funding is inadequate, and government programs are palliative rather than focused on integration. (references)

Civil Liberties

Switzerland

NGO's contend that such a short time period does not constitute an effective remedy and therefore violates the European Convention on Human Rights. (references)

Germany

The Church of Scientology, which operates 18 churches and missions remained under scrutiny by both federal and state officials, who contend that its ideology is opposed to democracy. (references)

Economic History

Colombia

Following administrations had to contend with the guerrillas, paramilitaries, and narcotics traffickers. (references)

Germany

New rules have simplified bureaucratic requirements, but industry must sometimes contend with officials' relative inexperience with deregulation and lingering pro-regulation attitudes. (references)

Vietnam

Private firms must contend with greater government-imposed controls than their state-run counterparts, specifically with respect to access to land, trading licenses, and entry barriers in some sectors. (references)

Human Rights

Bulgaria

Local observers contend that organized crime influences the prosecutor's office. (references)

Jamaica

Human rights advocates contend that police do not consider such murders a priority. (references)

Korea

International NGO's and defector sources contend that whole families, including children, are imprisoned together. (references)

Indigenous People

Canada

These legal challenges include one from the Liberal Party that contends that the treaty should have been submitted to a referendum and one from the Gitanyow, an indigenous group located near the Nisga'a, who contend that the treaty awarded more than 85 percent of their traditional tribal lands to the Nisga'a. (references)

Minorities

Morocco

Berber cultural groups contend that Berber traditions and the Berber language (actually three dialects, Tamazight, Tachelhit and Tarifit) are being lost rapidly. (references)

Macedonia

Some ethnic-Macedonian Muslims contend that they are identified too closely with ethnic Albanians, most of whom are also Muslim, and with whose policies the ethnic-Macedonian Muslims often disagree. (references)

Political Economy

Malaysia

UMNO and PAS continue to contend for the support of Malay voters. (references)

TURKEY

Trademark holders contend that there is widespread and often sophisticated counterfeiting of their marks in Turkey. (references)

France

After a record four years in office, Jospin has had to contend with perceptions his government has run out of momentum and new ideas. (references)

Political Rights

Yemen

Some oppositionists contend that they are unable to organize new parties because of the prohibitively high legal requirements regarding the minimum number of members and leaders. (references)

Hong Kong

In both the 1998 and 2000 elections, the functional constituencies were drawn more narrowly than the nine broad functional constituencies of the 1995 Legislative Council, as the total number of potential voters in functional constituencies was reduced from 1.15 million in 1995 to 180,000 in 1998. Human rights groups contend that the election of functional constituency representatives by so few persons is fundamentally undemocratic. (references)

Women

Tanzania

These practices include the tradition of inherited wives, which critics contend contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and child marriages, which are sanctioned with parental consent under the law for girls 12 years of age or older. (references)

Worker Rights

Seychelles

Trade unions contend that government entities pay some workers less than the legal minimum wage. (references)

Costa Rica

Some trade union leaders contend that "solidarity" associations infringe upon the right of association. (references)

China

Informed observers contend that actual workplace deaths and injuries are significantly higher than official statistics report. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "contend": contend against ♦ contend for ♦ contend in ♦ contend over ♦ contend with ♦ contend with smth.. Additional references.

Albanian

luftoj (combat, correct, debate, dispute, fight, militate, oppugn, ramp, stand up for, strive, struggle, thrash about, war, wrestle), konkurroj (compete, dispute, vie), hahem (compete, dispute, emulate, quarrel, rival, scuffle, vie), bëj debat (debate). (various references)

Arabic 

‏كافح (battle, combat, contend against, control, fight, hustle, militate, strike, strive, struggle, wrestle), ‏ناضل (agonize, buffet, combat, contest, fight, heave, militate, ply, pursue, push, strive, struggle, tug, worry, wrestle), ‏تنافس (compete, competition, contention, contest, discord, jostle, joust, play, rivalry, vie), ‏جادل (argue, debate, fuss, join issue with, quibble, reason, talk over, urge), ‏أكد (accentuate, affirm, assert, asseverate, assure, aver, avouch, bear out, check up on, confirm, corroborate, declare, double check, emphasize, predicate, proclaim, profess, protest, punctuate, show, substantiate, swear, underline, underscore, vouch, warrant), ‏دعا (allege, beckon, bid, call, claim, enter a plea, feign, fetch, invite, name, plead, profess, purport, recall, set up, summon, term, warn). (various references)

Bulgarian 

съпернича (vie), сражавам се (combat, fight, war), споря (altercate, argue, cample, contest, debate, dispute, expostulate, higgle, jar, palter, polemize), боря се (antagonize, fight, grapple, militate, reluct, scramble, struggle, tussle, wrestle), поддържам (adhere, atlas, back, bear, buoy, carry, expound, favour, feed, fuel, help on, hold, hold up, keep, keep up, maintain, nourish, play along, ply, promote, prop up, pull for, retain, run, service, side with, stand for, stand in with, support, sustain, take, upbear, uphold, vindicate, vouch). (various references)

Chinese 

�'逐 (Contended, Contending, Contention). (various references)

Czech

zápasit (agonize, fight, grapple, struggle, wrestle), tvrdit co. (various references)

Dutch

het opnemen tegen (combat, contend with, fight, fight against), bestrýden (challenge, combat, contend with, fight, fight against, protest, question). (various references)

Esperanto

kontraŭbatali (combat, contend with, fight, fight against). (various references)

Farsi 

مخالفت کرده با, ستیزه کردن (Bicker, Contest, Militate, Quarrel, Squabble), ادعاکردن (Acclaim, Assert, Claim, Profess), رقابت کردن (Challenge, Paragon, Rival, Vie). (various references)

Finnish

taistella (battle, fight, struggle), otella (compete, fight), kilvoitella (strive for). (various references)

French

contestons, contestez, contestent, combattre (combat), prétendre, lutter contre (control), disputer (compete, contest), affirmer. (various references)

German

wetteifern (compete, emulates, rival, to emulate, vie), streiten (altercate, argue, battle, compete, conflict, dispute, fight, quarrel, quarreling, squabble, take legal action, to altercate, to argue, to combat, to contend, to dispute, to quarrel, tussle, wrangle), sich einsetzen (campaign, intercede, plead, show commitment, take up), kämpfen (attack, battle, brawl, campaign, combat, fight, fray, grapple, push, skirmish, strive, struggle, to battle, to brawl, to combat, to fight, to tussle, tussle), disputieren (argue, dispute, to contend), behaupten (affirm, allege, argue, assert, assure, aver, claim, declare, defend, maintain, make out, predicate, pretend, pronounce, purport, state, to affirm, to argue, to assent, to claim, to claim kindred with someone, to suggest). (various references)

Greek 

ισχυρίζομαι (allege, assert, claim, maintain, pretend, pretend to, to claim), μάχομαι (battle, combat, fight), πολεμώ (battle, battle with, combat, fight, make war on, see combat, war), υποστηρίζω (assert, back, back up, befriend, bolster, countenance, maintain, patronize, predicate, prop, second, shore, sponsor, stand by, stand up for, submit, support, sustain, underpin, uphold), αγωνίζομαι (contend with, contest, scramble for, strive, struggle, tourney), αντιμάχομαι (conflict, militate), διαφιλονικώ. (various references)

Hebrew 

לטעון (allege, argue, assert, claim, plead, profess, state, submit). (various references)

Hungarian

vitatkozik (argue, debate, dispute, have a quarrel, quarrel, to argue, to contend, to contest, to debate, to dispute, wrangle), versenyez (compare, compete, emulate, race, rival, to compete, to contend, to emulate, to race, to rival, to row, to run against, to vie, vie), állít (affirm, allege, assert, aver, claim, declare, posit, represent, state, submit, to affirm, to allege, to assert, to asseverate, to aver, to claim, to contend, to corral, to line up, to parallel, to pillory, to predicate, to purport, to put in, to put up, to slant, to state, to submit, to suggest, to vow). (various references)

Indonesian

mengatasi (cope, eclipse, overcome, superintend), bertengkar (bicker, quarelling), berpendapat (opine). (various references)

Italian

contendersi, combattere (battle, be at loggerheads, combat, fight, struggle, tussle), lottare (battle, combat, conflict, encounter, fight, jostle, strive, struggle, wrestle), disputarsi, asserire (affirm, allege, assert, aver, declare, insist, maintain, predicate, state). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

挑む (to challenge, to contend for, to make love to). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

きょう�"う (arrogance, champion, collation, contend with, crying aloud, examining and comparing, pride, quarrel, veteran), ひゃっかそうめい (Let a hundred schools of thought contend), いどむ (to challenge, to contend for, to make love to), �"う�'あらそう (to claim credit, to contend for distinction), �"�"な�"とたたかう (to contend with difficulties), あらそいたたかう (to contend with, to fight with), ゆうしょう�'あらそう (to contend for victory). (various references)

Korean 

쟁탈하십시�". (various references)

Manx

streeu (rish) (cope, encounter), streeu (altercate; striving, altercation, conflict, contention, contest, cope, disagree, discord, disputation, encounter, endeavour, flare up, scuffle, squabble, strife, strive, variance), stepey, gleck (combat, contest, struggle, tussle, wrestle). (various references)

Pig Latin

ontendcay.(various references)

Polish

zwalczać (combat, contend with, fight, fight against). (various references)

Portuguese

contender (argue, contest, dispute, vie), competir (behoove, compete, cope, joust, race, rival, run, vie), rivalizar (compete, emulate, rival, strive, vie), pretender (aspire, aspire to, claim, desire, hope for, intend, mean, nip, play-act, presume, pretend, purpose, seek, want, wish), manter (abide, feed, foster, go ahead, hang onto, have, hold, hold down, keep, keep on, maintain, nourish, persist, preserve, retain, support, sustain, vie), lutar (battle, buffet, combat, conflict, contest, fight, grapple, lute, militate, scrap, scrimmage, scuffle, strike, strive, struggle, tug, vie, wrestle), argumentar (argue, maintain, reason, remonstrate, urge, vie), afirmar (affirm, allege, assert, assure, aver, avouch, claim, declare, guarantee, have, lay down, pose, predicate, profess, pronounce, say, undertake, vie). (various references)

Romanian

susţine (advocate, affirm, allege, argue, assert, back, back up, bear, bear up, bolster, buoy, buttress, carry, champion, claim, countenance, defend, encourage, endorse, entertain, Favor, favour, fortify, give countenance to smb., hold, hold up, maintain, pep, promote, prop, reinforce, sanction, second, speed, sponsor, submit, support, underlie, uphold, vindicate), se lupta (combat, exchange blows, fight, grapple, scramble, struggle), pretinde (allege, assert, challenge, charge, claim, command, exact, insist, maintain, make oneself out, make out, pretend, purport, require), lupta (strive, struggle), discuta în contradictoriu (be at odds, contest), bate (bark, baste, bastinado, bay, beat, beat up, beetle, belabour, best, blow, box, bruise, buffet, burst, chastise, chime, clap, club, cob, cuff, curry, dash, defeat, drive, drub, flail, flicker, flog, go, hit, horse, knock, knock in, lace, larrup, lash, lash into, lick, mint, paddle, palpitate, Pat, patter, peal, pound, pulsate, pulse, range, rap, rattle, ring, shake up, shine, slap, smite, sound, spank, strike, swinge, switch, tan, tap, tew, thrash, throb, thwack, tick, tinkle, toll, wallop, whip, worst). (various references)

Russian 

соперничать (vie). (various references)

Scottish

cothaich (earn, strive). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

tvrditi (allow, assert, asseverate, aver, avouch, claim, purport, submit, vouch), takmičiti se (compete, contest, measure one's strength), otimati se o. (various references)

Spanish

contender (contest). (various references)

Swedish

tävla (compete, contest, vie), strida (argue, conflict, contest, fight, jar, strive, struggle, tussle, vie), påstå (allege, argue, assert, avow, predicate, state, suggest). (various references)

Turkish

yarışmak (compete, contest, emulate, race, run, vie), uğraşmak (agonize, attack, be at war with, be occupied in doing, be occupied with doing, come at, cope, deal, endeavor, endeavour, engage in, exert oneself, fight, get at, go in for, grapple, groove, haze, labor, labour, make an effort, mess around with, mess with, moil, monkey around with, monkey with, pick on, push, seek, set to, strive, strive against, struggle, tackle, toil, try hard, tug, tussle, work away, work hard, wrestle), tartışmak (altercate, argue, bat around, Bicker, brawl, bust, canvass, challenge, controvert, debate, discuss, dispute, have a row with, have a set-to, have words with smb., jangle, join issue with smb., moot, negotiate, set to, spar, take issue with smb., wrangle), savaşmak (battle, battle against, battle for, campaign, conflict, fight, fight a battle, make war, strive against, strive with, struggle, wage war against, wage war on smb., war), rekabet etmek (compete, contest, enter into rivalry with, rival, vie), ileri sürmek (adduce, advance, affirm, allege, assert, bring about, broach, come up with, drive on, enunciate, hold forth, interpose, lay, prefer, present, press home, pronounce, propose, propound, publish, put forth, put forward, set forward, set up, throw out, urge, weigh in with), iddia etmek (affirm, allege, argue, argue for smth., assert, asseverate, attest, aver, claim, declare oneself, enunciate, press home, profess, protest, purport, put forth, put forward), çekişmek (chaffer, compete, conflict, contest, debate, dispute, higgle, quarrel, rival, strive with). (various references)

Ukrainian

суперничати (emulate, rival, vie), сперечатися (altercate, argue, bandy, contest, dispute, jangle, squabble, thwart, wrangle), боротися (antagonize, battle, buffet, champion, combat, debate, fight, grapple, militate, oppugn, strive, struggle, take on, tussle, wrestle). (various references)

Welsh

cynhennu (quarrel), ymryson (affray, altercation, broil, contention, rivalry, strife, strive), ymrafael (broil, contention, quarrel), ymddadlau (dispute), taeru (affirm, insist, maintain, wrangle), amwyn (defend, seize, support). (various references)

ambigebant, certamini, certando, certare, certati, certeris, confligere, congressi, congressis, congressus, contendere, decernere, decertarent, dimicabit, dimicabitis, dimicant, dimicantes, dimicare, dimicarent, dimicaret, dimicasset, dimicatum, dimicaveritis, dimicaverunt, dimicavi, dimicavit, dimicent, supercertari. (various references)

lacan. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "contend": contended, contender, contenders, contending, contends. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Contend" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: cantando, coaten, Comten, confen, Constand, contan, conted, contened, contens, contenu, conteyne, contin, Contini, Conton, Costen, cuntano. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: conned, docent, nocent, tendon.

-2 letters: cento, coden, coned, conte, coted, donne, nonce, nonet, noted, tenon, toned, tonne.

-3 letters: cent, code, coed, cone, conn, cote, deco, dent, done, dote, neon, node, none, note, once, tend, toed, tone.

-4 letters: cod, con, cot, den, doc, doe, don, dot, end, eon, net, nod, not, ode, one, ted, ten.

+1 letter: cantoned, connoted, contends.

+2 letters: condiment, confident, connected, consented, contained, contemned, contended, contender, contented, continued, convented, incondite, noncredit, uncounted, unnoticed.

+3 letters: coincident, coinvented, condensate, condiments, confidante, confronted, contenders, contending, covenanted, disconnect, discontent, endodontic, functioned, nonelected, sanctioned, undercount.

+4 letters: benediction, coattending, codefendant, codependent, coextending, commandment, concentered, condensates, condimental, conditioned, conditioner, conductance, confidantes, confidently, connectedly, constrained, constringed, contentedly, contravened, contredanse, countermand, decantation, declination, decondition, disconnects, discontents, discontinue, documenting, encountered, endodontics, fecundation, indirection, nonadjacent, nonattached, nondescript, nondiabetic, nondirected, nondomestic, noninfected, nonselected, recondition, reconnected, stanchioned, tendencious, truncheoned, unaccounted, uncaptioned, unconnected, uncontested, uncontrived, unconverted, undercounts.