SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
contentious
adjective
Likely to cause disagreement, or inclined to argue.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Likely to provoke disagreement
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topDebatable can be mild; contentious suggests actual or likely disagreement.
Inclined to argue
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topLitigious specifically suggests readiness to use legal proceedings.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See contentious in use
The contentious proposal required a longer discussion than expected.
The use of an apartment courtyard became contentious when some residents proposed weekend music sessions and others wanted a reliably quiet space.
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