different between emphasise vs contend

English

Verb

emphasise (third-person singular simple present emphasises, present participle emphasising, simple past and past participle emphasised)

1. (British) Alternative spelling of emphasize

Usage notes

The "s" spelling has co-existed with the "z" spelling for at least 150 years (Thackeray wrote emphasised), and is becoming more common in the UK, with the "z" spelling slowly falling out of usage.

Anagrams

• semiheaps

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)

1. 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.
2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.