Literary notes about contentious (AI summary)
The adjective "contentious" is deployed in literature to evoke situations or dispositions marked by dispute, strife, or heated debate. In some instances, it qualifies issues that stir political or ideological discord, as when legislative spending is characterized by less contentious negotiations [1] or when political evil is depicted in a volatile light [2]. At times, authors use the term to describe personal temperaments prone to argument, thereby painting characters as naturally combative or argumentative [3] or even as embodiments of a deteriorated, debatable quality [4]. It also finds its place in strategic and philosophical texts, where it illustrates both literal battlegrounds and abstract controversies, as noted in classical works discussing dialectic and conflict [5] [6] [7]. Moreover, modern texts employ "contentious" to underscore issues that continue to divide opinion, highlighting the enduring human penchant for debate and dissent [8] [9].
- We could focus on some of the less contentious spending cuts that are still pending before the Congress.
— from State of the Union Addresses (1790-2006) by United States. Presidents - It was a contentious, political evil as well.
— from The Squirrel Hunters of Ohio; or, Glimpses of Pioneer Life by N. E. (Nelson Edward) Jones - In many ways Michael found Miss Carthew was very contentious nowadays, and very seldom did an evening pass without a hot argument between him and her.
— from Sinister Street, vol. 1 by Compton MacKenzie - Most sciences, I think were then a very dead thing; withered, contentious, empty;—a thistle in late autumn.
— from On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle - Even in Plato they still retain their contentious or controversial character, which was developed by the growth of dialectic.
— from Timaeus by Plato - On contentious ground, I would hurry up my rear.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - 4. Ground the possession of which imports great advantage to either side, is contentious ground.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - While politics were thus growing increasingly contentious for him, he paradoxically found calm in new resorts to the theological controversy.
— from Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 2 (of 2)
With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh Edition by Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner - Western Sahara's unresolved legal status makes the exploitation of its natural resources a contentious issue between Morocco and the Polisario.
— from The 2010 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency