conflict

¹con·flict

noun \ˈkän-ˌflikt\

Definition of CONFLICT

1

: fight, battle, war <an armed conflict>

2

a : competitive or opposing action of incompatibles : antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons) b : mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands

3

: the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction

— con·flict·ful \ˈkän-ˌflikt-fəl\ adjective

— con·flic·tu·al \kän-ˈflik-chə-wəl, kən-, -chəl, -shwəl, -chü-əl\ adjective

Examples of CONFLICT

1. a conflict between two gangs
2. recent violent conflict in the region
3. Everyone in my family always tries to avoid conflict.
4. There was inevitable conflict over what to name the group.
5. They're having serious conflicts over the budget.
6. I don't see any conflicts between the theories.
7. You'll need to resolve the conflict between your parents' plans for you and your own ambitions.
8. In great wars—the American Civil War, the First and Second World Wars—the largest casualties are suffered just before the conflicts end. —Steve Forbes, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2009
9. At a moment when the country was still in the throes of the conflict over Vietnam, it was refreshing to see the best of America. —Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006
10. The basic conflict in the novel is, of course, between the life on the river, where Huck finds innocence, brotherhood with man, and communion with nature, and life ashore, where, stage by stage, he discovers the corruption of society … —Robert Penn Warren, Democracy and Poetry, (1975) 1976
11. … for work-family conflicts to disappear, two rock-ribbed institutions must change: the whole concept of children's care, and the way the workplace works. —Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Family Politics, 1983

Origin of CONFLICT

Middle English, from Latin conflictus act of striking together, from confligere to strike together, from com- + fligere to strike — more at profligate

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to CONFLICT

Synonyms: discord, disaccord, discordance, discordancy, disharmony, dissension (also dissention), dissent, dissidence, dissonance, disunion, disunity, division, friction, infighting, inharmony, schism, strife, variance, war, warfare

Antonyms: accord, agreement, concord, concordance, harmony, peace

Related Words: clash, collision, competition, contention; altercation, argument, bicker, brawl, debate, disagreement, dispute, divide, fissure; falling-out, fight, hassle, jar, miff, mix-up, quarrel, row, run-in, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle; incompatibility, incongruence, incongruity, incongruousness, inconsistence, inconsistency, inconsonance, inharmoniousness; animosity, antagonism, antipathy, cold war, enmity, hostility, ill will, rancor

Near Antonyms: concurrence, cooperation

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See Synonym Discussion at discord

Rhymes with CONFLICT

addict, afflict, constrict, convict, delict, depict, district, edict, evict, inflict, lipsticked, predict, restrict, unlicked, verdict