1
2
as in argues
to state (something) as a reason in support of or against something under consideration
contended that the senator's considerable experience made him the best candidate
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in alleges
to state as a fact usually forcefully
contended that his opponent was wrong about practically everything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contends
The Nashville lawsuit contends the company’s business model and insufficient safety protocols put women in harm’s way.
—
Sandy Mazza, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Sep. 2025
Even though those teams didn’t hire him as head coach, the NFL contends Flores’ employment contract as a Patriots assistant coach in 2019 and his contract as a Steelers assistant coach in 2022 both contain arbitration clauses and apply.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The lawsuit contends that county officials knew his property did not contain farm labor housing but proceeded with the search anyway, using the task force as a pretext to bypass warrant requirements and investigate for potential code violations.
—Ryan MacAsero, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
The man, who had survived, was instead quietly released later, with no paper trail documenting the health emergency, Flores contends.
—Christopher Damien, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Such towering there triggers potential issues with the state’s shadow law, which was enacted in 1990 and restricts the creation of new shadows on the Boston Common and Public Garden at certain times of the day, the coalition contends.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Wilson acknowledges ongoing risks from lagging labor indicators, but contends that the worst of the economic pain is now behind.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025
The report contends that data center owners are not transparent about their water footprint, and there is no requirement for them share that information publicly.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 17 Sep. 2025
The firings, the lawsuit contends, gutted the bureau of vital expertise.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Sandy Mazza, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Sep. 2025
Even though those teams didn’t hire him as head coach, the NFL contends Flores’ employment contract as a Patriots assistant coach in 2019 and his contract as a Steelers assistant coach in 2022 both contain arbitration clauses and apply.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 19 Sep. 2025
The lawsuit contends that county officials knew his property did not contain farm labor housing but proceeded with the search anyway, using the task force as a pretext to bypass warrant requirements and investigate for potential code violations.
—Ryan MacAsero, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
The man, who had survived, was instead quietly released later, with no paper trail documenting the health emergency, Flores contends.
—Christopher Damien, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Such towering there triggers potential issues with the state’s shadow law, which was enacted in 1990 and restricts the creation of new shadows on the Boston Common and Public Garden at certain times of the day, the coalition contends.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Wilson acknowledges ongoing risks from lagging labor indicators, but contends that the worst of the economic pain is now behind.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2025
The report contends that data center owners are not transparent about their water footprint, and there is no requirement for them share that information publicly.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 17 Sep. 2025
The firings, the lawsuit contends, gutted the bureau of vital expertise.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contends
Verb
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Google, whose Gemini chatbot competes with ChatGPT, has been slower to sign such deals.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Bill Belichick camped the team at Palm Beach Atlantic University, a private Christian school that competes at the Division II level.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But Bob’s behavior, One Battle After Another argues, is also entirely justified because of the terrifying brutality of the world—a reality that crashes into Bob’s hazy reverie to create an electrifying, thoughtful blockbuster.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
18 Sep. 2025
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But, argues a new book, the future of cities is female.—
Carlton Reid,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The complaint alleges that Starbucks violated the law by not reimbursing employees who needed to buy new clothes to comply with the dress code.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
18 Sep. 2025
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The 230-page lawsuit alleges incidents of abuse, emotional distress, and a failure to provide accommodations to Her.—
Emma Hall,
Sacbee.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Children want to change, as Adam Phillips asserts, but adults want to stay the same.—
Rachel Kushner,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
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Similarly, Hick's law (or the Hick-Hyman law, named for psychologists William Edmund Hick and Ray Hyman) asserts that increasing the number of choices a user is presented with will increase their decision time logarithmically.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Google, of course, insists the AI Overviews arrangement benefits everyone.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Oscar Martinez of The Office insists to the documentary camera crew on the hunt for what became of the Dunder-Mifflin crew 12 years after the long-running program went off the air.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, Republicans on Sunday criticized some Democrats, suggesting language used by them contributed to Kirk's killing, claims that Democrats rejected.—
Lalee Ibssa,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
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The study also claims that the ASW system could reduce a submarine’s chance of escape to just 5 percent, meaning only one in 20 would likely evade detection and attack.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contends. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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