Contentiousness

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Contentious \Con*ten"tious\, a. [L. contentiosus: cf. F.
     contentieux.]
     1. Fond of contention; given to angry debate; provoking
        dispute or contention; quarrelsome.
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              Despotic and contentious temper.      --Macaulay.
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     2. Relating to contention or strife; involving or
        characterized by contention. --Spenser.
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              More cheerful, though not less contentious, regions.
                                                    --Brougham.
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     3. (Law) Contested; litigated; litigious; having power to
        decide controversy.
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     {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.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  contentiousness
       n : a disposition to fight [syn: {aggressiveness}, {belligerence},
            {pugnacity}, {quarrelsomeness}]