7:1 - Contentious

When & Where: I was eating lunch at work yesterday with some colleagues. One of the other English teachers said, "This other teacher -- who is very contentious -- always got into arguments with me about this one student."

Level of Familiarity: I know that I've heard this word before and it reminds me of the word contemptuous, which I think has a slightly similar meaning. I think it means someone who is full of themselves or stuck-up, but I'm not sure.

What it Means: www.dictionary.com says "(of a person) given to arguing or provoking argument."

Reflective Commentary: I think it's interesting that it can either be describing a person who argues a lot or describing a controversial idea or argument (a point of contention). There are a lot of different ways to use this word and I'm going to try to use it in the future because I've come across it so many times.