"contends" in the verb sense
1. contend, postulate
maintain or assert
"He contended that Communism had no future"
2. argue, contend, debate, fence
have an argument about something
3. contest, contend, repugn
to make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation
"They contested the outcome of the race"
4. cope, get by, make out, make do, contend, grapple, deal, manage
succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available
"We got by on just a gallon of gas"
"They made do on half a loaf of bread every day"
5. compete, vie, contend
compete for something engage in a contest measure oneself against others
6. contend, fight, struggle
be engaged in a fight carry on a fight
"the tribesmen fought each other"
"Siblings are always fighting"
"Militant groups are contending for control of the country"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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