Contest

Contest
Contest Con"test, n. 1. Earnest dispute; strife in argument; controversy; debate; altercation. [1913 Webster]

Leave all noisy contests, all immodest clamors and brawling language. --I. Watts. [1913 Webster]

2. Earnest struggle for superiority, victory, defense, etc.; competition; emulation; strife in arms; conflict; combat; encounter. [1913 Webster]

The late battle had, in effect, been a contest between one usurper and another. --Hallam. [1913 Webster]

It was fully expected that the contest there would be long and fierce. --Macaulay.

Syn: Conflict; combat; battle; encounter; shock; struggle; dispute; altercation; debate; controvesy; difference; disagreement; strife.

Usage: {Contest}, {Conflict}, {Combat}, {Encounter}. Contest is the broadest term, and had originally no reference to actual fighting. It was, on the contrary, a legal term signifying to call witnesses, and hence came to denote first a struggle in argument, and then a struggle for some common object between opposing parties, usually one of considerable duration, and implying successive stages or acts. Conflict denotes literally a close personal engagement, in which sense it is applied to actual fighting. It is, however, more commonly used in a figurative sense to denote strenuous or direct opposition; as, a mental conflict; conflicting interests or passions; a conflict of laws. An encounter is a direct meeting face to face. Usually it is a hostile meeting, and is then very nearly coincident with conflict; as, an encounter of opposing hosts. Sometimes it is used in a looser sense; as, ``this keen encounter of our wits.'' --Shak. Combat is commonly applied to actual fighting, but may be used figuratively in reference to a strife or words or a struggle of feeling. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • contest — con·test 1 /kən test/ vt: to dispute or challenge through legal procedures contest a will con·test 2 / kän ˌtest/ n: a challenge brought through formal or legal procedures boundary controversies or other contest s between states Felix… …   Law dictionary

  • contest — vb 1 *compete, contend Analogous words: struggle, strive, endeavor (see ATTEMPT): fight, battle (see CONTEND) 2 *resist, withstand, oppose, fight, combat, conflict, antagonize contest n Contest, conflict, combat, fight, affray, fray …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • contest — [n1] competition challenge, concours, discussion, game, match, meet, meeting, proving, rencounter, sport, testing, tournament, trial, trying; concepts 92,363 contest [n2] fight, struggle action, affray, altercation, battle, battle royal*, beef*,… …   New thesaurus

  • contest — ► NOUN 1) an event in which people compete for supremacy. 2) a dispute or conflict. ► VERB 1) compete to attain (a position of power). 2) take part in (a competition or election). 3) challenge or dispute. ● …   English terms dictionary

  • Contest — Con*test , v. i. To engage in contention, or emulation; to contend; to strive; to vie; to emulate; followed usually by with. [1913 Webster] The difficulty of an argument adds to the pleasure of contesting with it, when there are hopes of victory …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Contest — Con*test , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Contested}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Contesting}.] [F. contester, fr. L. contestari to call to witness, contestari litem to introduce a lawsuit by calling witnesses, to bring an action; con + testari to be a witness,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Contest — País …   Wikipedia Español

  • contest — [kən test′; ] for n. [ kän′test΄] vt. [Fr contester < L contestari, to call to witness, bring action < com , together + testari, to bear witness < testis, a witness: see TESTIFY] 1. to try to disprove or invalidate (something) as by… …   English World dictionary

  • contest — is pronounced with stress on the first syllable as a noun and on the second syllable as a verb …   Modern English usage

  • contest — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ close, equal (BrE), even, tight ▪ closely fought (esp. BrE), hard fought ▪ one sided, u …   Collocations dictionary

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