Synonyms for contentious
kənˈtɛn ʃəscon·tentious

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. contentious

   Synonyms:
   adverse, alienated, antagonistic, bellicose, belligerent, cold, disaffected, distant, estranged, frigid, hostile, ill-disposed, indifferent, inimical, unfriendly, unkind, warlike

   Antonyms:
   accessible, affable, affectionate, amicable, brotherly, companionable, complaisant, cordial, favorable, fond, friendly, genial, hearty, kind, kindly, loving, neighborly, sociable, social, tender, well-disposed

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. contentious

   Synonyms:
   litigious, perverse, wayward, splenetic, cantankerous, exceptions

   Antonyms:
   pacific, obliging, considerate, obsequious, accommodating, easy

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. contentious, combative, disputatious, disputative, litigiousadjective

   inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits

   "a style described as abrasive and contentious"; "a disputatious lawyer"; "a litigious and acrimonious spirit"

   Synonyms:
   bellicose, agonistic, battleful, agonistical, litigious, disputative, combative, disputatious

   Antonyms:
   unargumentative, uncontroversial, noncontroversial

2. contentiousadjective

   involving or likely to cause controversy

   "a central and contentious element of the book"- Tim W.Ferfuson

   Synonyms:
   litigious, disputatious, combative, disputative

   Antonyms:
   unargumentative, uncontroversial, noncontroversial

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. propensity to fight

   tending to frequently contend

   you are a contentious person. the vandals were a contentious people.

   Submitted by rinat on August 11, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. contentiousadjective

   Synonyms:
   quarrelsome, cross, petulant, perverse

2. contentiousadjective

   Synonyms:
   disputatious, captious, cavilling

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. contentiousadjective

   Synonyms:
   disputatious, litigious, quarrelsome, dissentious, polemical

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "contentious":

   controversial, disputed, contested, litigious, debatable, questionable, polemical, thorny, confrontational, conflicting

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How to use contentious in a sentence?

1. Adam Jentleson:

   The Republican Senate has started off as the least productive, most partisan, most contentious Senate in recent memory, from bypassing committees on every single bill so far to trying to silence senators who dared to disagree with him to failing to hold a single Friday vote, Sen. McConnell is running a closed and partisan process that is extremely unproductive for the middle class.

2. James Kohm:

   At several points we walked out or threatened to walk out, it was contentious, but it was professional and adult.

3. Celine Gounder:

   Other than health care workers, others who will be first in line to get it will be people who do have chronic underlying medical conditions who are older, as well as communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, now among those groups is where it starts to get a little bit more contentious.

4. Chuang-tzu, On Leveling All Things:

   Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous.

5. Joy Behar:

   It’s not that I was an angel the entire time, of course, I was there for years. You’re not an angel every single day at work, especially in such a high-level, contentious environment. I'm sure when this book comes out, ABC will have many things to say about things that I did, but I never told a woman who had just gotten back from maternity leave, on air, that I didn't miss her and think that it was hilarious.