contention
French, noun/kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃/
contention is spelled C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-O-N (10 letters) and appears about once in every 2 million words in written French, the 41,186th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Contention is a French feminine noun meaning “disposition, effort” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Action de tendre fortement les facultés intellectuelles vers quelque chose”.
What does contention mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininedisposition, effort
contention d'esprit
- 2
femininedispute, contention
- 3
feminineimmobilization, (psychiatry) restraint
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Action de tendre fortement les facultés intellectuelles vers quelque chose. 2. Débat, dispute. 3. Dispositif destiné à une immobilisation de tout ou partie du corps. 4. Action destinée à une immobilisation une contrainte par corps.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of contention
- contentions plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce contention?
- /kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃/
- \kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\
- [kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to contention
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is contention in French?
contention appears about once in every 2 million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).