Need another word that means the same as “contentious”? Find 34 synonyms and 30 related words for “contentious” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Contentious” are: combative, disputatious, disputative, litigious, controversial, disputable, debatable, disputed, open to debate, open to question, moot, vexed, heated, vehement, fierce, violent, intense, impassioned, committed, argumentative, quarrelsome, confrontational, captious, factious, pugnacious, ready for a fight, defiant, hostile, antagonistic, bellicose, belligerent, militant, warring, fighting
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “contentious” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
antagonistic | Characterized by antagonism or antipathy. An antagonistic group of bystanders. |
argumentative | Given to or characterized by argument. An intelligent but argumentative child. |
bellicose | Having or showing a ready disposition to fight. A mood of bellicose jingoism. |
belligerent | Engaged in war. A belligerent tone. |
captious | Tending to find and call attention to faults. A captious teacher. |
combative | Ready or eager to fight or argue. A combative impulse. |
committed | Associated in an exclusive sexual relationship. Committed church members. |
confrontational | Tending to deal with situations in an aggressive way; hostile or argumentative. He distanced himself from the confrontational approach adopted by his predecessor. |
controversial | Giving rise or likely to give rise to controversy or public disagreement. Years of wrangling over a controversial bypass. |
debatable | Open to discussion or argument. It is debatable whether the country is coming out of recession. |
defiant | Showing defiance. Brought up to be aggressive and defiant. |
disputable | Open to argument or debate. Whether it can be described as art criticism may be disputable. |
disputatious | Fond of having heated arguments. It s a congenial hang out for disputatious academics. |
disputative | Inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits. |
disputed | Subject to disagreement and debate. |
factious | Relating or inclined to dissension. A factious country. |
fierce | (of a mechanism) having a jolting and powerful abruptness of action. Fierce loyalty. |
fighting | Engaged in or ready for military or naval operations. He put up his fists and took a fighting stance. |
heated | Made warm or hot het is a dialectal variant of heated. A heated swimming pool. |
hostile | Very unfavorable to life or growth. A hostile remark. |
impassioned | Filled with or showing great emotion. She made an impassioned plea for help. |
intense | Extremely sharp or intense. A burning and intense look. |
litigious | Tending or too ready to take legal action to settle disputes. Our increasingly litigious society. |
militant | Engaged in war. Militant in fighting for better wages for workers. |
moot | Subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty. Whether they had been successful or not was a moot point. |
open to debate | Of an interval that contains neither of its endpoints. |
open to question | Ready or willing to receive favorably. |
pugnacious | Tough and callous by virtue of experience. Pugnacious spirits lamented that there was so little prospect of an exhilarating disturbance. |
quarrelsome | Given to quarreling. A moody quarrelsome man. |
ready for a fight | Mentally disposed. |
vehement | Characterized by great force or energy. Her voice was low but vehement. |
vexed | Troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances. The vexed parents of an unruly teenager. |
violent | Marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions inclined to react violently fervid. Violent dislike. |
warring | (of two or more people or groups) in conflict with each other. Warring factions. |
argue | Present reasons and arguments. She was too tired to argue the point. |
argument | An independent variable associated with a function or proposition and determining its value For example in the expression y F x x the arguments of the function F are x and x and the value is y. The argument over foreign aid goes on and on. |
argumentative | Given to or characterized by argument. An argumentative child. |
bellicose | Demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight. Bellicose young officers. |
belligerent | Engaged in war. A conference of socialists from all belligerent countries. |
bicker | (of a flame or light) flash, gleam, or flicker. Against the glass the rain did beat and bicker. |
combative | Inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits. A combative impulse. |
competition | The contestant you hope to defeat. The competition for university places is greater than ever this year. |
confrontational | Of or relating to confrontation. He distanced himself from the confrontational approach adopted by his predecessor. |
contend | Succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available. He contended that Communism had no future. |
contention | A point asserted as part of an argument. The teams were in fierce contention for first place. |
controversial | Giving rise or likely to give rise to controversy or public disagreement. Rushdie s controversial book. |
controversy | Prolonged public disagreement or heated discussion. The announcement ended a protracted controversy. |
debatable | Open to discussion or argument. It is debatable whether the country is coming out of recession. |
debate | Have an argument about something. John debated Mary. |
discord | Lack of harmony between notes sounding together. A prosperous family who showed no signs of discord. |
discussion | An exchange of views on some topic. We had a good discussion. |
disputable | Capable of being disproved. Whether it can be described as art criticism may be disputable. |
disputatious | Fond of having heated arguments. A disputatious lawyer. |
dispute | A disagreement or argument about something important. He taught and disputed with local poets. |
fight | The act of fighting any contest or struggle. They were fighting over who pays the bill. |
issue | Supplies as food or clothing or ammunition issued by the government. He died without issue. |
litigious | Concerned with lawsuits or litigation. A litigious and acrimonious spirit. |
polemical | Of or involving dispute or controversy. A polemical essay. |
pugnacious | Tough and callous by virtue of experience. His public statements became increasingly pugnacious. |
quarrelsome | Given to quarreling. Quarrelsome when drinking. |
refutable | Able to be refuted. |
rivalry | The act of competing as for profit or a prize. There always has been intense rivalry between the clubs. |
wrangle | An instance of intense argument (as in bargaining. Wrangle horses. |
wrangling | Engagement in a long, complicated dispute or argument. Weeks of political wrangling. |
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