Contending

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Actively competing or striving to win against others ; asserting a fact or opinion in an argument or debate
2. Engaged in rivalry or contest with others ; maintaining a position by argument or claim
3. Taking part in a struggle or competition ; putting forward a viewpoint or claim as true

Etymology: The Latin verb "contendere" was built from "com-", meaning "together" or "intensively", and "tendere", "to stretch". The image behind it is physical: two parties pulling at the same thing, or stretching toward the same goal. That stretching sense survived in the many "tend" words English later borrowed, such as "attend", "extend" and "intend", which all keep the notion of reaching toward something. Middle English took "contenden" from Old French "contendre", and the word carried both the physical and the combative senses for centuries. Its present participle "contending" inherits that sense of rival forces straining against each other, which is why it is used for people, armies, and claimants pursuing the same prize.

Synonyms: striving, competing, battling, arguing, debating

Antonyms: yielding, submitting, agreeing, relinquishing