Definition
A female person who contends, competes, or argues; a woman engaged in a struggle or contest.
Etymology
From 'contend' plus the -ress suffix, which historically created feminine forms of nouns (like 'actor/actress'). The suffix comes from Old French and Latin -trix.
Kelly Says
The -ress suffix is becoming rare in modern English, but it reminds us of how language used to always mark gender—a contendress was the standard way to say a woman was competing, though today we'd just say 'contender.'
Translations
ARالعربية
المتنافسة
al-mutanafi'sa
BNবাংলা
যুদ্ধবিগ্রহী
yuddho-bi-grihi
CACatalà
contendora
kon-ten-do-ra
CSČeština
bojovnice
bo-jo-vn-i-tse
DADansk
stridig kvinde
shtrīː-dig kvin-de
DEDeutsch
Streitlerin
shtrīːtˈliːn
ELΕλληνικά
μαχητής
ma-che-tis
ESEspañol
contendiente
kon-ten-dien-te
FAفارسی
مبارزه گر
mo-ba-reh-e gar
FISuomi
taistelija
tɑɪ̯sːtɛlɪjɑ
FRFrançais
contenderesse
kɔ̃.tɛ̃.dɛ.ʁɛs
HAHA
ma'aurata
ma-au-ra-ta
HEעברית
מתחרות
me-ta-cha-rot
HIहिन्दी
विवादक
vee-vaad-ak
HUMagyar
küzdelmes nő
küz-del-mes nő
IDBahasa Indonesia
pemberani
pem-be-ra-ni
IGIG
nwoke na-agba
nwo-ke na-ag-ba
ITItaliano
contenditrice
kon-ten-dit-tsee-che
KKKK
күресуші
kyre-su-shi
MSBahasa Melayu
pemberani
pem-be-ra-ni
MYမြန်မာ
စကားပြိုင်
ska-ba-pya-in
NLNederlands
strijdster
shtrīːt-stər
NONorsk
stridig kvinne
shtrīː-dig kvin-ne
PLPolski
zawodniczka
za-vo-d-ni-tza
PTPortuguês
contendora
kon-ten-do-ra
RORomână
contenditoare
kon-ten-di-to-re
RUРусский
борщица
bor-shitsa
SVSvenska
stridig kvinna
shtrīː-dig kvi-nna
SWKiswahili
mapambano
ma-pam-ba-no
TAதமிழ்
போராளிய
po-ra-a-li
TEతెలుగు
సమరయోధుర
sa-ma-ra-yo-dhu-ra
THไทย
ผู้ต่อสู้
phûu dtua-sûu
TLTL
mangangaway
man-ga-ng-a-way
TRTürkçe
mücadeleci kadın
myu-ka-de-le-ci ka-din
UKУкраїнська
боротьбистка
bor-tyb-ist-ka
URاردو
مبارزہ
mu-ba-ra-zah
VITiếng Việt
người tranh luận
người tranh luận
ZUZU
umqondisi
um-qon-di-si
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Gendered noun suffix -ess marks female disputants as exceptional variants of the unmarked male form 'contender,' reinforcing males as the default. This pattern persists across agent/actor nouns.
Inclusive Usage
Use 'contender' for all genders. The -ess suffix is archaic and unnecessarily genders competitive roles.
Inclusive Alternatives
["contender","opponent","disputant"]