contend vs recognize

contend

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

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

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

recognize

verb
  • To acknowledge the existence or legality of; to treat as valid or worthy of consideration. 

  • To match (something or someone which one currently perceives) to a memory of some previous encounter with the same person or thing. 

  • To realize or discover the nature of something; apprehend quality in. 

  • To show formal appreciation of, as with an award, commendation etc. 

  • to cognize again 

  • To have the property to bind to specific antigens. 

  • To acknowledge or consider (as being a certain thing or having a certain quality or property). 

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