contention
con·ten·tion/kənˈtɛnʃən/noun
contention is spelled C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables (con·ten·tion). It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, contention means “Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of contention is contentions.
How many letters and syllables are in contention?
| Letters | 10: C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: con·ten·tion |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is contention?
Contention appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce contention?
- /kənˈtɛnʃən/
Contention has 3 syllables, split con·ten·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-contention.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of contention
- contentions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contention mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
It is my contention that state lotteries are taxes on stupid people.
- 3
Competition by parts of a system or its users for a limited resource.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contention in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dispute, discorde, litige |
| German | Streit , Behauptung |
| Portuguese | contenção, contenda |
| Spanish | contienda, contención, contencioso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does contention come from?
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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).