different between contend vs profess
contend
English
Etymology
From Middle English contenden, borrowed from Old French contendre, from Latin contendere (“to stretch out, extend, strive after, contend”), from com- (“together”) + tendere (“to stretch”); see tend, and compare attend, extend, intend, subtend.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k?n?t?nd/
- Rhymes: -?nd
Verb
contend (third-person singular simple present contends, present participle contending, simple past and past participle contended)
- To strive in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight.
- 1611, King James Version, Deuteronomy ii. 9
- The Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle.
- 1611, King James Version, Deuteronomy ii. 9
- To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend.
- 17th century, John Dryden, Epistle III to the Lady Castlemain
- You sit above, and see vain men below / Contend for what you only can bestow.
- 17th century, John Dryden, Epistle III to the Lady Castlemain
- To strive in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue.
- these simple ideas are far from those innate principles which some contend for
- 1667, Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety
- many of those things he so fiercely contended about , were either falle or trivial
- To believe (something is reasonable) and argue (for it); to advocate.
- In this paper the author contends that no useful results can be obtained if this method is used.
Synonyms
- (strive in opposition): fight, combat, vie, oppose
- (struggle): struggle, strive, emulate (rare)
- (strive in debate): contest, litigate, dispute, debate
- (believe and argue): assert, aver
Related terms
- contender
- contention
- contentious
Translations
Further reading
- contend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- contend in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
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profess
English
Etymology
From Old French professer, and its source, the participle stem of Latin profit?r?, from pro- + fat?r? (“to confess, acknowledge”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /p???f?s/
- Rhymes: -?s
Verb
profess (third-person singular simple present professes, present participle professing, simple past and past participle professed)
- (transitive) To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order. (Chiefly in passive.) [from 14th c.]
- 2000, Butler's Lives of the Saints, p.118:
- This swayed the balance decisively in Mary's favour, and she was professed on 8 September 1578.
- 2000, Butler's Lives of the Saints, p.118:
- (reflexive) To declare oneself (to be something). [from 16th c.]
- 2011, Alex Needham, The Guardian, 9 Dec.:
- Kiefer professes himself amused by the fuss that ensued when he announced that he was buying the Mülheim-Kärlich reactor […].
- 2011, Alex Needham, The Guardian, 9 Dec.:
- (transitive, intransitive) To declare; to assert, affirm. [from 16th c.]
- c. 1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, First Folio 1623:
- He professes to haue receiued no sinister measure from his Iudge, but most willingly humbles himselfe to the determination of Iustice […].
- 1974, ‘The Kansas Kickbacks’, Time, 11 Feb 1974:
- The Governor immediately professed that he knew nothing about the incident.
- c. 1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, First Folio 1623:
- (transitive) To make a claim (to be something); to lay claim to (a given quality, feeling etc.), often with connotations of insincerity. [from 16th c.]
- 2010, Hélène Mulholland, The Guardian, 28 Sep 2010:
- Ed Miliband professed ignorance of the comment when he was approached by the BBC later.
- 2010, Hélène Mulholland, The Guardian, 28 Sep 2010:
- (transitive) To declare one's adherence to (a religion, deity, principle etc.). [from 16th c.]
- 1983, Alexander Mcleish, The Frontier Peoples of India, Mittal Publications 1984, p.122:
- The remainder of the population, about two-thirds, belongs to the Mongolian race and professes Buddhism.
- 1983, Alexander Mcleish, The Frontier Peoples of India, Mittal Publications 1984, p.122:
- (transitive) To work as a professor of; to teach. [from 16th c.]
- (transitive, now rare) To claim to have knowledge or understanding of (a given area of interest, subject matter). [from 16th c.]
Translations
Further reading
- profess in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- profess in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
profess From the web:
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- what profession makes the most millionaires
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