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contend

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.45 sec.
con·tend  (kn-tnd)
v. con·tend·ed, con·tend·ing, contends
v.intr.
1. To strive in opposition or against difficulties; struggle: armies contending for control of strategic territory; had to contend with long lines at the airport.
2. To compete, as in a race; vie.
3. To strive in controversy or debate; dispute. See Synonyms at discuss.
v.tr.
To maintain or assert: The defense contended that the evidence was inadmissible.

[Middle English contenden, from Latin contendere : com-, com- + tendere, to stretch, strive; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

con·tender n.

contend
Verb
1. contend with to deal with
2. to assert
3. to compete or fight
4. to argue earnestly [Latin contendere to strive]
contender n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.contend - maintain or assert; "He contended that Communism had no future"
claim - assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing; "He claimed that he killed the burglar"
2.contendcontend - have an argument about something
stickle - dispute or argue stubbornly (especially minor points)
spar - fight verbally; "They were sparring all night"
bicker, brabble, pettifog, squabble, quibble, niggle - argue over petty things; "Let's not quibble over pennies"
altercate, argufy, quarrel, scrap, dispute - have a disagreement over something; "We quarreled over the question as to who discovered America"; "These two fellows are always scrapping over something"
oppose - be against; express opposition to; "We oppose the ban on abortion"
converse, discourse - carry on a conversation
3.contend - to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation; "They contested the outcome of the race"
oppose - be against; express opposition to; "We oppose the ban on abortion"
challenge, dispute, gainsay - take exception to; "She challenged his claims"
4.contend - come to terms with; "We got by on just a gallon of gas"; "They made do on half a loaf of bread every day"
act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"
extemporize, improvise - manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand; "after the hurricane destroyed our house, we had to improvise for weeks"
fend - try to manage without help; "The youngsters had to fend for themselves after their parents died"
hack, cut - be able to manage or manage successfully; "I can't hack it anymore"; "she could not cut the long days in the office"
rub along, scrape along, scrape by, scratch along, squeak by, squeeze by - manage one's existence barely; "I guess I can squeeze by on this lousy salary"
cope with, match, meet - satisfy or fulfill; "meet a need"; "this job doesn't match my dreams"
5.contendcontend - compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others
try for, go for - make an attempt at achieving something; "She tried for the Olympics"
play - participate in games or sport; "We played hockey all afternoon"; "play cards"; "Pele played for the Brazilian teams in many important matches"
run off - decide (a contest or competition) by a runoff
race, run - compete in a race; "he is running the Marathon this year"; "let's race and see who gets there first"
rival - be the rival of, be in competition with; "we are rivaling for first place in the race"
emulate - compete with successfully; approach or reach equality with; "This artist's drawings cannot emulate his water colors"
rival, equal, match, touch - be equal to in quality or ability; "Nothing can rival cotton for durability"; "Your performance doesn't even touch that of your colleagues"; "Her persistence and ambition only matches that of her parents"
6.contend - be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight; "the tribesmen fought each other"; "Siblings are always fighting"; "Militant groups are contending for control of the country"
bear down - exert full strength; "The pitcher bore down"
fistfight - fight with the fists; "The man wanted to fist-fight"
join battle - engage in a conflict; "The battle over health care reform was joined"
tug - struggle in opposition; "She tugged and wrestled with her conflicts"
fight down, oppose, fight, fight back, defend - fight against or resist strongly; "The senator said he would oppose the bill"; "Don't fight it!"
get back, settle - get one's revenge for a wrong or an injury; "I finally settled with my old enemy"
fight back - defend oneself
battle, combat - battle or contend against in or as if in a battle; "The Kurds are combating Iraqi troops in Northern Iraq"; "We must combat the prejudices against other races"; "they battled over the budget"
war - make or wage war
attack, assail - launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week"
duel - fight a duel, as over one's honor or a woman; "In the 19th century, men often dueled over small matters"
joust - joust against somebody in a tournament by fighting on horseback
chicken-fight, chickenfight - fight while sitting on somebody's shoulders
tourney - engage in a tourney
feud - carry out a feud; "The two professors have been feuding for years"
skirmish - engage in a skirmish
bandy - exchange blows
fence - fight with fencing swords
box - engage in a boxing match
spar - fight with spurs; "the gamecocks were sparring"
tussle, scuffle - fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters; "the drunken men started to scuffle"
wrestle - engage in a wrestling match; "The children wrestled in the garden"
wage, engage - carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns); "Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe"

contend
Translations
Spanish contend [kənˈtɛnd] vt (= argue) → afirmar
vi (= struggle) → luchar;
he has a lot to contend with → tiene que hacer frente a muchos problemas

French contend [kənˈtɛnd] vt to contend that → soutenir or prétendre que vi to contend with (= compete) → rivaliser avec (= struggle); lutter avec;
to have to contend with (= be faced with) → avoir affaire à, être aux prises avec

German contend [kənˈtɛnd] vt to contend that ... → behaupten, dass ...;
to contend with → fertig werden mit;
to contend for → kämpfen um;
to have to contend with → es zu tun haben mit;
he has a lot to contend with → er hat viel um die Ohren

Italian contend [kənˈtɛnd] vt to contend that → sostenere che vi to contend with → lottare contro;
he has a lot to contend with → ha un sacco di guai

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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
" They replied, "You fight and contend with the wind, and consequently you are destroyed; while we on the contrary bend before the least breath of air, and therefore remain unbroken, and escape.
They are intended for the perusal of young women, at that tender age when the feelings of their nature begin to act on them most insidiously, and when their minds are least prepared by reason and experience to contend with their passions.
Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtile; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend.
 
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