HOW TO PRONOUNCE
contentious
/kənˈtɛnʃəs/
Press play to hear how to pronounce contentious.
American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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LISTEN FOR THIS
Stress “ten” and listen for “sh.”
Give the second of three syllables the main beat. The written tious at the end becomes shus, with no separate t followed by an extra ee syllable here.
3 syllables · Stress on syllable 2
TRY SAYING
“The meeting covered a contentious proposal.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗What does contentious mean?
adjective
- Marked by heated arguments or controversy.
- Given to struggling with others out of jealousy or discord.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/kənˈtɛnʃəs/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
Even in Plato they still retain their contentious or controversial character, which was developed by the growth of dialectic.
We have made great contributions to the settlement of contentious differences in both Europe and Asia.
More book examples (3)
The pair were speeding away into the distant gray by the time that the contentious revellers became aware of what had happened.
Ground the possession of which imports great advantage to either side, is contentious ground.
Other reasons are also advanced, but they are of such a contentious nature I do not think it well to go into them here.