1
2
as in to argue
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 to insist
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 contend
Perhaps the best example of that is how much Ware has been utilized in zone defense, an approach that some might contend is hiding the 2024 first-round pick from the direct challenges of his position.
—
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
For instance, Loevy represented two people arrested in 2005 and subjected to strip searches at the Cook County Jail, contending that the strip-search procedures violated their constitutional rights.
—Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026
Its leaders have repeatedly contended that their resistance to occupation is protected under international law and the Lebanese constitution, if not under the new domestic policy.
—Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026
Tori Ballif Gibbons, a San Francisco attorney representing the town council, contends the new lawsuit deals with different legal issues than her client’s previous case.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for contend
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2026
For instance, Loevy represented two people arrested in 2005 and subjected to strip searches at the Cook County Jail, contending that the strip-search procedures violated their constitutional rights.
—Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026
Its leaders have repeatedly contended that their resistance to occupation is protected under international law and the Lebanese constitution, if not under the new domestic policy.
—Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026
Tori Ballif Gibbons, a San Francisco attorney representing the town council, contends the new lawsuit deals with different legal issues than her client’s previous case.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for contend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contend
Verb
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On Sunday, May 24, Kyle's wife, Samantha Busch, and their children — son Brexton, 11, and daughter Lennix, 4 — made an emotional appearance at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, in which Kyle was supposed to compete before his death at age 41 on May 21.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
25 May 2026
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James Tarkowski and Michael Keane have signed new deals this season and will compete with Branthwaite and O’Brien for minutes.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Verb
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Vincent Bugliosi argued—first in court, then in Helter Skelter—that Manson had meant for the murders to incite Helter Skelter.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
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Political observers argue that Hilton’s conservative media profile and Bianco’s law enforcement background resonate with rural and suburban voters on issues like crime and immigration, suggesting their campaigns address genuine policy concerns beyond election denialism.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2026
Verb
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Team Johnson has insisted that Chicago should be — and in their minds still is — the first option.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
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Even Manny has to hand it to him, but Hartman proves he's matured and insists that saving the day was a team effort.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
Verb
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The model internalizes domain knowledge during training rather than as a retrieval layer at inference time, learning to reason within the domain instead of mapping general patterns onto it.—
Sam Mugel,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images On the agentic AI front, Google announced Gemini Spark, a new general purpose AI agent in the Gemini app that can reason across information in connected apps.—
Jennifer Elias,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Flotilla detainees alleged Israeli abuse Israeli forces intercepted the 50-boat flotilla in international waters around 250 miles off the coast of Israel beginning on May 18.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
25 May 2026
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Aurora officials also failed to properly train officers on threat assessments, de-escalation, warnings and the constitutional limits on deadly force, the lawsuit alleges.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
25 May 2026
Verb
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In January 2024, Crawford pleaded not guilty to that misdemeanor count and another misdemeanor for animal cruelty and was scheduled to go to trial.—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
23 May 2026
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The case was used to justify capturing Maduro, who is now in New York awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty.—
Ben Finley,
Fortune,
23 May 2026
Verb
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It’s also claimed that the primary focus will remain on climate-compatible propulsion systems, autonomous technologies and applications for security and defense.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
23 May 2026
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But Ukraine claims that a new generation of interceptors is blunting the impact of Russian attacks on its cities.—
Sebastian Shukla,
CNN Money,
23 May 2026
Verb
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Determined to assert their own vision of justice, Pontiac and others painted themselves for war, picked up their stockpiled arms, and attacked British forts, just two weeks after this hanging.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
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Many companies will assert a great work-life balance.—
Kate Wieczorek,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contend. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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