Con*test" (?), v. t. [imp.
& p. p. Contested; p. pr. & vb.
n. Contesting.] [F. contester, fr. L.
contestari to call to witness, contestari litem to
introduce a lawsuit by calling witnesses, to bring an action;
con- + testari to be a witness, testic
witness. See Testify.] 1. To make a
subject of dispute, contention, litigation, or emulation; to
contend for; to call in question; to controvert; to oppose; to
dispute.
The people . . . contested not what was
done.
Locke.
Few philosophical aphorisms have been more
frequenty repeated, few more contested than this.
J. D. Morell.
2. To strive earnestly to hold or
maintain; to struggle to defend; as, the troops contested
every inch of ground.
3. (Law) To make a subject of
litigation; to defend, as a suit; to dispute or resist; as a
claim, by course of law; to controvert.
To contest an election. (Polit.)
(a) To strive to be elected.
(b) To dispute the declared result of an
election.
Syn. -- To dispute; controvert; debate; litigate;
oppose; argue; contend.
Con*test", v. i. To engage in
contention, or emulation; to contend; to strive; to vie; to
emulate; -- followed usually by with.
The difficulty of an argument adds to the pleasure
of contesting with it, when there are hopes of
victory.
Bp. Burnet.
Of man, who dares in pomp with Jove
contest?
Pope.
Con"test (?), n. 1.
Earnest dispute; strife in argument; controversy; debate;
altercation.
Leave all noisy contests, all immodest
clamors and brawling language.
I. Watts.
2. Earnest struggle for superiority,
victory, defense, etc.; competition; emulation; strife in arms;
conflict; combat; encounter.
The late battle had, in effect, been a
contest between one usurper and another.
Hallam.
It was fully expected that the contest
there would be long and fierce.
Macaulay.
Syn. -- Conflict; combat; battle; encounter; shock;
struggle; dispute; altercation; debate; controvesy; difference;
disagreement; strife. -- Contest, Conflict,
Combat, Encounter. Contest is the broadest
term, and had originally no reference to actual fighting. It was,
on the contrary, a legal term signifying to call
witnesses, and hence came to denote first a struggle in
argument, and then a struggle for some common object between
opposing parties, usually one of considerable duration, and
implying successive stages or acts. Conflict denotes
literally a close personal engagement, in which sense it is
applied to actual fighting. It is, however, more commonly used in
a figurative sense to denote strenuous or direct opposition; as,
a mental conflict; conflicting interests or
passions; a conflict of laws. An encounter is a
direct meeting face to face. Usually it is a hostile meeting, and
is then very nearly coincident with conflict; as, an
encounter of opposing hosts. Sometimes it is used in a
looser sense; as, "this keen encounter of our wits."
Shak. Combat is commonly applied to actual
fighting, but may be used figuratively in reference to a strife
or words or a struggle of feeling.
