as in dispute
variance of opinion on a matter
the statement is certainly open to contestation among reasonable people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contestation
After the conclusion of one set of political contestations, new challenges emerge: after World War II came the Cold War, for example.
—
Jonathan Kirshner, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2025
After Germany occupied Norway in 1940 and Adolf Hitler’s troops invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Svalbard became a key point of military contestation.
—James Patton Rogers & Caroline Kennedy Pipe / Made By History , TIME, 23 Jan. 2025
What that does is take these decisions out of the space of democratic contestation.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2025
His book outlines the dominance of white masculinity in presidential politics since the birth of our nation, and the ways in contestations over masculinity are evident in its most prominent political contests.
—Kelly Dittmar, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Jonathan Kirshner, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2025
After Germany occupied Norway in 1940 and Adolf Hitler’s troops invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Svalbard became a key point of military contestation.
—James Patton Rogers & Caroline Kennedy Pipe / Made By History , TIME, 23 Jan. 2025
What that does is take these decisions out of the space of democratic contestation.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2025
His book outlines the dominance of white masculinity in presidential politics since the birth of our nation, and the ways in contestations over masculinity are evident in its most prominent political contests.
—Kelly Dittmar, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for contestation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contestation
Noun
-
No arrests were made, and there was no further investigation into the dispute.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Approach with caution, look at reviews, and maybe don’t use your main credit card (or at least keep your bank’s dispute line handy).—
Francesca Krempa,
StyleCaster,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The sort-of antagonist in The Last of Us Part II first stirred up controversy when the game originally debuted in 2020.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Up next, a ubiquitous presence on television, unafraid of controversy, sounding off on everything from sports to pop culture to politics.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Jake is a single father who has brought Kristen up in the severe Calvinist tradition, marked by Bible disputations of Talmudic intricacy and by a radical detachment from secular and popular culture.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2023
-
Seven decades later, this culture of disputation emerged as a central theme in Timothy Garton Ash’s The Magic Lantern, his eyewitness report on the Eastern European revolutions of 1989.—
Susie Linfield,
The New York Review of Books,
11 May 2022
Noun
-
Things got particularly ugly during 2016 presidential debates when he was asked to defend referring to women as fat pigs and slobs.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Whether that’s primarily on the players for not handling that like professionals, or on Briere for not recognizing the impact that losing Laughton (and, to a lesser extent, Erik Johnson) would have on the group, is up for debate.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
This is the classic day for disagreements with anyone in a position of authority.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Gregg Ward, executive director at The Center for Respectful Leadership, said that while disagreements between neighbors are common, starting a war is never a good idea.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contestation. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share