The Collaborative International Dictionary
Contentious \Con*ten"tious\, a. [L. contentiosus: cf. F. contentieux.]
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Fond of contention; given to angry debate; provoking dispute or contention; quarrelsome.
Despotic and contentious temper.
--Macaulay. -
Relating to contention or strife; involving or characterized by contention.
--Spenser.More cheerful, though not less contentious, regions.
--Brougham. -
(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.
Wiktionary
adv. In a contentious manner
Usage examples of "contentiously".
These are the matters the murmurers and complainers talk of so impudently and contentiously, but the real cause lies deeper.