contentious : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: contentious	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for contentious
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
contentious adj inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits; "a style described as abrasive and contentious"; "a disputatious lawyer"; "a litigious and acrimonious spirit" Synonym(s): contentious, combative, disputatious, disputative, litigious involving or likely to cause controversy; "a central and contentious element of the book"- Tim W.Ferfuson
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Contentious \Conten"tious\, a. [L. contentiosus: cf. F. contentieux.] 1. Fond of contention; given to angry debate; provoking dispute or contention; quarrelsome. Despotic and contentious* temper. --Macaulay. 2. Relating to contention or strife; involving or characterized by contention. --Spenser. More cheerful, though not less contentious, regions. --Brougham. 3. (Law) Contested; litigated; litigious; having power to decide controversy. {Contentious jurisdiction} (Eng. Eccl. Law), jurisdiction over matters in controversy between parties, in contradistinction to {voluntary jurisdiction}, or that exercised upon matters not opposed or controverted. Syn: Quarrelsome; pugnacious; dissentious; wrangling; litigious; perverse; peevish. -- {Conten"tiously}, adv. -- {Conten"tiousness}, n.