The phrase "away from contentious" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the desire to avoid or distance oneself from arguments or disputes.
Example: "In order to foster a more collaborative environment, we need to steer our discussions away from contentious topics."
Alternatives: "avoiding conflict" or "steering clear of disputes".
She didn't shy away from contentious words like "euthanasia".
Not content to sit on the sidelines, Deller has found controversy not by courting it but by not shying away from contentious issues.
US aides have said the first lady is staying away from contentious issues, but will promote education and people-to-people exchanges during the seven-day visit to three cities.
Many Democratic incumbents remain vulnerable, but their positions have stabilized in the last month as they have begun running negative advertisements to raise questions about their Republican challengers and shift the focus of voters away from contentious national issues like health care, bailouts and President Obama's performance.
China's resistance to taking a higher international profile on difficult foreign policy issues, and its desire to keep away from contentious problems, is becoming much more challenging.
Ask open-ended questions (for example, instead of saying "Do you have any plans this weekend?", which can be answered with a simple yes or no, ask "What are you up to this weekend?"), and stay away from contentious topics such as politics and religion.
But aides to Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee, contend that Mr. Bush is running away from a contentious policy that they say is widely opposed by the moderate swing voters, particularly women, he is assiduously courting.
Lexicographers may want to stay away from such contentious issues, but the authoritative power of their dictionaries means they're inevitably caught up in such definitional wars — even as they try to stay above the fray and describe language without worrying about the sensitivities of one side or another in a political dispute.
Texas officials were trying to shift the focus away from the contentious arrest on July 10 that started the chain of events that led to the discovery of Bland's body in the cell three days later, he said.
But he also brought a uniquely combative attitude to a position that has traditionally been filled by lawyers who shy away from making contentious statements about immigration enforcement ― one of the country's most divisive political issues.
Le Pen's answer to the party's troubles has been to shift away from its contentious calls for France to return to its own currency instead of using the euro, while focusing on its core issues of opposing immigration and embracing nationalism.
