contention

Name: contention, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/kənˈtɛnʃən/

//kənˈtɛnʃən// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“contention” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,671. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,671
frequency rank, English: 5,599
“C” headwords: 16
tracked misspellings: 8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.

Corpus desk

Index EN-contention · contention · English

contention · rank #10,671 · 16 variants · 8 confusables

FREQ-MID #10,671
LEN-MEGA 10 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
VAR-HIGH 16 variants
BOOK-DENSE 5,599
PHOTO-FINISH confessed

Nearest frequency peer: confessed (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

combines

89,334
commodities

89,333
confessed

89,332
contention

89,330
covenant

89,328
das

89,326

What this shows Bars show where “contention” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

contention vs convention

90% similar

contention vs convection

80% similar

contention vs contrition

80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for contention
Property	Value
Headword	contention
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/kənˈtɛnʃən/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#10,671
Misspellings tracked	16
Confusable pairs	8
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “contention” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).contention lands here:

#10,671

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around contention (IPA /kənˈtɛnʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,671 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for contention, with forms such as "ccontention", "cnotention", and "conetntion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "convention", "convection", "contrition", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English contencion, borrowed from Old French contencion, from Latin contentio, contentionem, from contendō (past participle contentus); equivalent to contend + -tion (similar formation to attention). The correct English form is contention, spelled C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N.

Definition

1
Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.
2
A point maintained in an argument, or a line of argument taken in its support; the subject matter of discussion of strife; a position taken or contended for.
3
Competition by parts of a system or its users for a limited resource.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how contention appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

It is my contention that state lotteries are taxes on stupid people.

Etymology

From Middle English contencion, borrowed from Old French contencion, from Latin contentio, contentionem, from contendō (past participle contentus); equivalent to contend + -tion (similar formation to attention).

Synonyms

gainstrife gainstriving wrangling

This word in other languages

contienda(Español)dispute(Français)Streit(Deutsch)contenção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ccontention
cnotention
conetntion
conntention
conteniton
contenntion
contension
contentino
contentionn
contentoin
contenttion
contetnion
contnetion
conttention
cotnention
ocntention

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contention - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "contention"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "contention"?

"contention" is spelled C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈtɛnʃən/.

What does "contention" mean?

As a noun, "contention" means: Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.

What words are commonly confused with "contention"?

"contention" is commonly confused with "convention", "convection", "contrition". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "contention"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "contention" is /kənˈtɛnʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "contention"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "contention", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ceremonies#10,660 exercising#10,692 anticipate#10,646 analytical#10,645

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

discoveries16 variants acceleration16 variants worthwhile16 variants positioning16 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "contention". Here's where to go from here.

"contention" maps to 8 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "convention". View pair
16 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
Usage frequency rank #10,671 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.