contend vs oppose

contend

verb
  • To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend. 

  • To be in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight. 

  • To be in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue. 

  • To believe (something is reasonable) and argue (for it); to advocate. 

  • contend with: To try to cope with a difficulty or problem. 

oppose

verb
  • To attempt to stop the progression of; to resist or antagonize by physical means, or by arguments, etc.; to contend against. 

  • To object to. 

  • To place in front of, or over against; to set opposite; to exhibit. 

  • To present or set up in opposition; to pose. 

How often have the words contend and oppose occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )