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to contend

to contend

66 3.7
Compete with others to try to win something
  • verb
  • /kənˈtɛnd/
translation icon : competir
  • The two athletes must contend for the championship title in the upcoming tournament.
  • contending forces
  • contending interests

I know what it's like to contend with difficult things.

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Examples

  • You still have me to contend with.

  • There will be ground bounce here that I have to contend with, OK.

  • I know what it's like to contend with difficult things.

  • And I believe that role is to teach children how to contend with reality.

  • There will be mines and ice to contend with.

  • He has enough to contend with without your telling him what to do.

  • We're also having to contend increasingly with the politics of fear and populism.

  • Nest Freemark was expected to contend for a medal in multiple running events.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Finally, many public school music educators must contend with scheduling issues.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Third, and most important, the Finnish navy had to contend with parliamentary opposition to large defense appropriations.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

to fight
vsto contend
1.0

To try hard to oppose or overcome something difficult

is more about rivalry to win rather than pure resistance or opposition
to compete
vsto contend
983 2.6

Try to win against others who want the same thing

is broader covering both rivalry and hard effort
to struggle
vsto contend
139 2.7

To fight against someone or something, often with great effort

is more about trying to win against others rather than only facing difficulty
to vie
vsto contend
50 6.2

To try very hard to win the same thing as someone else

is less focused on eagerness and more neutral about the effort
to contest
vsto contend
33 2.8

To try to win something by competing with other people or groups

is broader used for general rivalries and also difficult efforts

Antonyms

81 4.3

To stop resisting under pressure or force

to relinquish
  • Formal
69 7.2

To give up control, a right, or something you own

How Competitive

to fight
1.0
battle
805 3.3
to contend
66 3.7
to vie
50 6.2
to compete
983 2.6

Surface Forms

contend infinitive
contended past
contended past participle
contending present participle
contends third person singular

Morphology

contend = tend (semi-transparent) = con + tend

Historically 'con-' + 'tend' underlies the verb, but the common senses of 'tend' (care, incline) do not straightforwardly yield 'compete' for an average learner, so the relation is only partly clear.

Etymology

Contend comes from the Latin parts con- 'together' and tendere 'to stretch', giving the image of people 'stretching' or pulling toward the same goal. So, to contend today is to compete or struggle with others to win.