Contend

As a detective solving the mystery of the crossword clue ‘Contend‘, my thought process was to first understand the meaning of the word ‘Contend‘. After brainstorming and reviewing possible options, I zeroed in on the word ‘Aver‘ as the answer. This is because the word ‘Aver‘ means to assert or declare as true, which can be synonymous with ‘contend‘ in certain contexts. I cross-referenced this with the other clues and letters around the answer, and it fit perfectly. Additionally, I took into consideration the length of the word ‘Aver‘, as it matched the number of boxes in the clue, further affirming my choice. Overall, my keen attention to detail and understanding of word meanings and context led me to confidently conclude that ‘Aver‘ was the correct answer to the crossword clue ‘Contend‘.