Contest
Contest noun - An earnest effort for superiority or victory over another.
Usage example: the eternal contest between the forces of good and the forces of evil
Debate is a synonym for contest in speech topic. In some cases you can use "Debate" instead the word "Contest" as a verb or a noun, when it comes to topics like struggle, argument, oppose, challenge.
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| best | best contest | best debate |
| long | long contest | long debate |
| similar | similar contest | similar debate |
| friendly | friendly contest | friendly debate |
| Other adjectives: actual, entire, real, perpetual, constant, big, little, infamous, hot, final, further, primary, last, academic, televised, presidential. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Nearly an hour of the fourth GameStation podcast was devoted to a debate/shouting contest between Jesse and TB on this. Minecraft.
Source: Creator / The Cynical Brit - Discussed in Peanuts when Peppermint Patty and Marcie debate about how the judges for a skating contest can be qualified if they themselves can't skate.
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What began as a debate on the Republican candidates quickly turned into a one-up contest, with both participants trying to make the other one look stupid.
Source: Combat Breakdown
Cite this Source
Debate and Contest. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/contest/debate
Contest & Debate. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/contest/debate>.
Debate or Contest. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/contest/debate.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "contest" and "debate" have occurred on timeline