contentious.

1. Prone to dispute or challenge rather than agree readily.

2. Causing or involving significant disagreement or controversy.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a contentious colleague
• a contentious manner

On the page

The contentious clerk challenged every instruction except the one that would have protected him.

She had a contentious manner but listened carefully when the evidence changed.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychological / character. Forms: Comparative more contentious; superlative most contentious where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.