as in aggression
an inclination to fight or quarrel
his natural tendency towards contentiousness made him a poor choice for a diplomatic post
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Recent Examples of contentiousness
Then there is the lifelong contentiousness with her mother, Marluce Martins Perry, a talented Brazilian artist who reluctantly traded her gifts and status for matrimony and child-rearing and resented her family in the wake of her decision.
—
A.d. Amorosi, SPIN, 4 May 2026
The theme of the contentiousness was that the Bengals didn’t have interest in offering any long-term guarantees that were a priority to the 31-year-old.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Reinecke attributed some of the contentiousness to a conflict between economic development and historic preservation.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
A.d. Amorosi, SPIN, 4 May 2026
The theme of the contentiousness was that the Bengals didn’t have interest in offering any long-term guarantees that were a priority to the 31-year-old.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Reinecke attributed some of the contentiousness to a conflict between economic development and historic preservation.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contentiousness
Noun
-
The problem is, when your side lack intensity, aggression and cohesion, those traps are easy to spot and avoid.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Bass said Pratt’s videos encourage aggression.—
Britta Miller,
The Washington Examiner,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
Bears display aggressiveness towards visitors Aggressive bears have been a concern in the park since April, with the animals chasing people and even biting them.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
-
The two have been engaging in a subtle war of online words with fans noting passive aggressiveness to the max.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
The onset of hostilities was enough to persuade around a hundred and eighty Democrats to support the measure.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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As swirling rumors and escalating fears mount of imminent US-Israeli strikes, there is a growing sense of inevitability among many Iranians about the resumption of hostilities.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Noun
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As a student at Dartmouth College, Dhillon doubled down on her political beliefs with a combativeness that foreshadowed her later commitment to MAGA.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
13 Apr. 2026
-
But Bondi decided the moment called for combativeness, not contrition.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contentiousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contentiousness. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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