CONTENTIOUS is a very tricky word. An online poster confessed that he/she saw the root word content and mistakenly concluded that CONTENTIOUS means “full of facts and information.” WRONG! CONTENTIOUS is actually derived from the Latin contentious meaning “quarrelsome.” CONTENTIOUS typically refers to an issue that is likely to cause heated disagreement.
During the 1960s, the Vietnam War sparked an increasingly CONTENTIOUS debate between “hawks” and “doves.” Hawks argued that America was fighting for a just cause to defend the freedom of South Vietnam. Doves countered that the tragic loss of life was too great. Instead of saving South Vietnam, American bombs were destroying it.
CONTENTIOUS – a person, issue, or situation that causes heated disagreement or controversy