contentious

Intermediatezipf 3.31

Pronunciation

/kənˈtɛnʃəs/(kun-TEN-shus)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

有争议的；引起争论的；好争辩的

Definition

(1) Causing or likely to cause disagreement. (2) Inclined to argue.

Word family

  • contention/kənˈtɛnʃən/(n)争论
  • contentiously/kənˈtɛnʃəsli/(adv)
  • contentiousness/kənˈtɛnʃəsnəs/(n)

Collocations

  • contentious issue
  • contentious debate
  • contentious topic
  • highly contentious

Examples

  1. 1.Immigration remains one of the most contentious political issues. (divisive)
  2. 2.The meeting became contentious when budget cuts were discussed. (argumentative)

Synonyms

  • controversial/ˌkɒntrəˈvɜːʃəl/— causing public debate
  • divisive/dɪˈvaɪsɪv/— causing disagreement among people
  • disputed/dɪˈspjuːtɪd/— argued over

Etymology

from Latin "contentiosus" = quarrelsome — "contendere" = to strive — full of strife