SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
contend
verb
To compete or struggle against difficulty or opposition.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Compete or struggle
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topContend for a prize means compete; contend with a difficulty means struggle to manage it.
Deal with difficulty
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topContend with and grapple with emphasize the difficulty of what must be handled.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See contend in use
Several talented teams will contend for the title.
A neighborhood chess team had to contend with a shortage of practice space before an interclub tournament.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license