To compete with someone or something, or to argue strongly that something is true.
From Latin *contendere*, meaning "to stretch, strive, fight" (*con-* "together" + *tendere* "to stretch"). It originally described physical striving or fighting.
When you contend for a prize, you’re stretching yourself toward it; when you contend an idea, you’re stretching an argument as far as it can go. The word carries a sense of effortful struggle, whether on a field or in a debate.
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