constraint

restraint; compulsion; repression of feelings; reticence; V. constrain: hold back; restrain; compel; oblige; confine forcibly; imprison

construe

explain; interpret; Ex. construe her silence as meaning that she agreed; CF. misconstrue

consummate

complete; V.

contagion

infection (by contact); ADJ. contagious; CF. infectious: that can be passed by infection in the air

contaminate

pollute

contempt

scorn; disdain; ADJ. contemptuous; CF. contemptible

contend

struggle; compete; assert earnestly; state strongly

contention

assertion; claim; thesis; struggling; competition

contentious

quarrelsome; controversial; likely to cause arguments

contest

dispute; argue about the rightness of; compete for; try to win; Ex. contest the election results; Ex. contest a seat in Parliament; N.

context

writings preceding and following the passage quoted; circumstance in which an event occurs

contiguous

adjacent to; touching upon

continence

self-restraint; sexual chastity; sexual abstinence; voluntary control over bladder and bowel functions; ADJ. continent

contingent

dependent on something uncertain or in the future; conditional; happening by chance; accidental; N: a group of soldiers, ships to a larger force; CF. contingency: future event that may or may not occur; possibility; Ex. prepare for every contingency

contortions

twistings; distortions; V. contort: twist violently out of shape; CF. contortionist