contentious
/kənˈtɛn.ʃəs/adjective
contentious is spelled C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-U-S: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, contentious means “Marked by heated arguments or controversy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in contentious?
| Letters | 11: C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is contentious?
Contentious appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th 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 contentious?
- /kənˈtɛn.ʃəs/
Contentious has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-contentious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of contentious
- more contentious comparative
- most contentious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contentious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Marked by heated arguments or controversy.
- 2
Given to struggling with others out of jealousy or discord.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contentious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | controversé , belliqueux, agressif, provocateur, combatif, batailleur |
| German | umstritten, strittig, kontrovers , streitsüchtig, streitbar, zänkisch |
| Portuguese | controverso , conflituoso |
| Spanish | controvertido, polémico, contencioso , conflictivo, pendenciero, camorrista |
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.