English Dictionary: contentiousness | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for contentiousness | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Contentious \Con*ten"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. -- {Con*ten"tious*ly}, adv. -- {Con*ten"tious*ness}, n. |