0             He was contemptuous of everything I did. fife X4

HHHo ► con-temp-tu-ous-lyadv.: tolaugh contemptuously giUtfeA^!:

con tend /kan'tend/ verb 1 {formal) to say that sth is true, especially in an argument ( ft 1b |E i£ 41 ) ^

, ±      , iA fa         maintain : [V that] I would

contend that the minister’s thinking is flawed on this point.          [also VN

that] 2 [V] ~ (for sth) to compete against sb in order to gain sth ^          ; #-    : Three armed groups were

contending for power.

id:i;yj con'tend with sth to have to deal with a problem or difficult situation ( X4

fit [S fet: Nurses often have to contend with violent or drunken patients.

iAo

con-tend er /kan’tend0(r)/ noun a person who takes part in a competition or tries to win sth # # #; ^ M # ; #•      # : a contender for a gold medal in the

Olympics II is ){$($#• fit# 0 a leading/serious/strong contender for the party leadership /

COn-tent1 Ow /’kDntent; NAmE 'ka:n-/ noun — see also

CONTENT2

1             contents [pi.] the things that are contained in sth

faW: He tipped the contents of the bag onto the table. fifetEMi3Mlft:£HflJ4EJl7±o 0 Fire has caused severe damage to the contents of the building. AAtt^AtlM^ffiriit. 0 She hadn’t read the letter and so was unaware of its contents.

, J8[ftu'tt£i*g-?c0r*no 2

contents [pi.] the different sections that are contained in a book ( 4$          @ M  : a table of contents

(= the list at the front of a book) @^oa contents page Itl 3 [sing] the subject matter of a book, speech, programme, etc. (45, i#i$,

|A] #: Your tone of voice is as important as the content of what you have to say.       AlWfS]

jf- M1? o o The content of the course depends on what the students would like to study, if Jg, it ^ ft* A o 0 Her poetry has a good deal of political content.  lA # »          4 [sing.]

(following a noun 41 7 & is] fs) the amount of a substance that is contained in sth else ^M; §i: food with a high fat content Ha M # it i§i # Vi] 0 the alcohol content of a drink tA 14  ^ it 5 [U] (com­

puting if) the information or other material contained on a website or CD-ROM ( R] ^ R iA :)fc # ±         ) fa

#, g : online content providers |*<] AJ con-tent2 /kan'tent/ adj., verb, noun —see also

CONTENT1

madj. [not before noun] 1 ~ (with sth) happy and satisfied with what you have M, ; P )£. : Not content with stealing my boyfriend (= not thinking that this was enough), she has turned all my friends against me. ftfefif

X4o O He seemed more content, less bitter. fifeSM£5fctfcl£ 3$ A A ii 0 O He had to be content with third place. fifeRAFlS^I^H^o c> note at happy 2 ~ to do sth willing to do sth Jg M: I was content to wait. & Jg M^ IS o — compare contented m verb [VN] 1 ~ yourself with sth to accept and be satisfied with sth and not try to have or do sth better fit f£.;

Ml £HaeL: Martina contented herself with a bowl of soup.

2             {formal) to make sb feel happy or satisfied fife Tit M; fife $1 &: My apology seemed to content him. ^dtiB^fiS^fifeSSHiSo a noun = CONTENTMENT OTSTKSl see HEART con-tent-ed /kan'tentid / adj. [usually before noun] showing or feeling happiness or satisfaction, especially because your life is good ( AtaSAtSjM ) jSSIcW, a contented smile         o He was

a contented man. fife 4" it M I# A 0 — compare CONTENT2 adj. t*ua DISCONTENTED O note at HAPPY ► con-tent-ed-ly adv.: She smiled contentedly. tfo'bWiM

T0<

conten tion /kan'tenfn/ noun {formal) 1 [U] angry disagreement between people #■ Bfi; #-jfi.; dispute : One area of contention is the availability of

nursery care. #-i£#J—W&fi

3             a point of contention         2 [C] ~ (that ... ) a belief

or an opinion that you express, especially in an argu­ment ( Ata#-iXiA: It is our client’s contention that the fire was an accident,  AEftlf

AJA       o I would reject that contention.

4£ 4^ [eJ fiP #  „ o note at claim iTSfflil in con­

tention (for sth) with a chance of winning sth

J| t#: . Only three teams are now in contention for the title.          out of con'tention

(for sth) without a chance of winning sth  jfct#

                more at bone n.

contentious /kan’tenjas/ adj. (formal) 1 likely to cause disagreement between people pTt^4l a contentious issue/topic/subject 4f#-iAWlfilI£ / iS'M /

± IS O Both views are highly contentious. W # M ^ OEQ uncontentious 2 liking to argue; involving a lot of arguing H rfi 64; A ^       : a

contentious meeting

con-tent-ment /kan’tentmant/ (also less frequent con­tent) noun [U] a feeling of happiness or satisfaction & $t;§C;          He has found contentment at last, fifeft^s-

PJ 7 it J5L. O a sigh of contentment fife If — P H

                compare discontent c- note at satisfaction

'content word noun (linguistics i# If) a noun, verb,

adjective or adverb whose main function is to express meaning ; ^is| — compare function word con test ot* noun, verb

a noun /'knntest; NAmE 'ka:n-/ 1 a competition in which people try to win sth fctfl?; MM : a singing contest tfc 0 a talent contest ^  0 to enter/win/

lose a contest #fip / MMAzWi —see also

beauty contest 2 ~ (for sth) a struggle to gain control or power (       a contest for

the leadership of the party       TTtTOl be

,no 'contest used to say that one side in a competition is so much stronger or better than the other that it is sure to win easily (         )

e verb Ikan'test/ [VN] 1 to take part in a competition, elec­tion, etc. and try to win it ( It#, ) :

Three candidates contested the leadership.     A

0 a hotly/fiercely/keenly contested game (= one in which the players try very hard to win and the scores are close)     tt# 2 to formally

oppose a decision or statement because you think it is wrong ; It • • • $1 it : to contest a will (= try to show that it was not correctly made in law) X4 ill IS it ft JHIt 0 The divorce was not contested.

con-test-ant /kan'testant/ noun a person who takes part in a contest tt##;       Please welcome our

next contestant.

COn-text Ou /'kontekst; NAmE 'ka:n-/ noun [C, U]

4             the situation in which sth happens and that helps

you to understand it ( ) MM,

A Sfi : This speech needs to be set in the context of Britain in the 1960s.      20 tfffe 60

0 His decision can only be understood in context. RWTlIA&AJ&^fMfifife&J (A o 2 the words that come just before and after a word, phrase or statement and help you to understand its meaning ±T ; iff it: You should be able to guess the meaning of the word from the context,       0 ffl is )A

±TAt0 This quotation has been taken out of context (= repeated without giving the circumstances in which it was said).         

MXo

contextual /kan’tekstjual/ adj. (formal) connected with a particular context

^i§ ^ is A : contextual information % ±'T X M A W fg J, o contextual clues to the meaning con-text-ual-ly adv.

con-text-ual-ize (BrE also -ise) /kan’tekstjualaiz/ verb [VN] (formal) to consider sth in relation to the situation in which it happens or exists 44 • • • S 7 # M A # S& ;