contention vs sparring

contention and sparring both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
contention	Yes	No	No	No
sparring	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, sparring is a hyponym of contention; that is, sparring is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than contention:

contention: a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement
sparring: an argument in which the participants are trying to gain some advantage

Other hyponyms of contention include argle-bargle, argy-bargy, firestorm, polemic, fight.

contention (noun)	sparring (noun)
the act of competing as for profit or a prize	making the motions of attack and defense with the fists and arms; a part of training for a boxer
a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement	an argument in which the participants are trying to gain some advantage
a point asserted as part of an argument