contention and convention differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. contention means “a point asserted as part of an argument”. convention means “a large formal assembly”. convention is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/kənˈtɛnʃən/
1.n.a point asserted as part of an argument
2.n.a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
“they were involved in a violent argument”
3.n.the act of competing as for profit or a prize
“the teams were in fierce contention for first place”
/kənˈvɛnʃən/
1.n.a large formal assembly
“political convention”
2.n.something regarded as a normative example
“the convention of not naming the main character”
3.n.(diplomacy) an international agreement
| contention | convention | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /kənˈtɛnʃən/ | /kənˈvɛnʃən/ |
| Said | kuhn-TEN-shuhn | kuhn-VEN-shuhn |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| Letters | 10 | 10 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun |
| Senses | 3 | 5 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for contention · Full entry for convention · More comparisons