con*ten"tious*ness
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Contentious \Con*ten"tious\, a. [L. contentiosus: cf. F. contentieux.]
1.Fond of contention; given to angry debate; provoking dispute or contention; quarrelsome. [1913 Webster]
Despotic and contentious temper.— Macaulay.[1913 Webster]
2.Relating to contention or strife; involving or characterized by contention. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
More cheerful, though not less contentious, regions.— Brougham.[1913 Webster]
3.(Law) Contested; litigated; litigious; having power to decide controversy. [1913 Webster]
Contentious jurisdiction (Eng. Eccl. Law), jurisdiction over matters in controversy between parties, in contradistinction to voluntary jurisdiction, or that exercised upon matters not opposed or controverted.
Syn: Quarrelsome; pugnacious; dissentious; wrangling; litigious; perverse; peevish. -- Con*ten"tious*ly, adv. -- Con*ten"tious*ness, n. [1913 Webster]