Synonyms of fighting

fighting 1 of 3

adjective

as in battling

Related Words

• battling
• warring
• savage
• cross
• vicious
• testy
• ugly
• hostile
• irritable
• disagreeable
• ornery
• peevish
• fretful
• petulant
• dyspeptic
• bilious
• fractious
• acidic
• antagonistic
• irascible
• grumpy
• surly
• bristly
• touchy
• querulous
• waspish
• choleric
• snappish
• grouchy
• pettish
• combative
• bearish
• crabby
• huffy
• cranky
• belligerent
• stroppy
• warlike
• confrontational
• aggressive
• ill-tempered
• militant
• prickly
• fierce
• gladiatorial
• assaultive
• feisty
• pugnacious
• bellicose
• quarrelsome
• ill-natured
• ill-humored
• agonistic
• snappy
• contentious
• argumentative
• hot-tempered
• scrappy
• rude
• chippy
• discordant
• brawly
• disputatious
• truculent

Dissimilar Words

• peaceful
• peaceable
• pacific
• nonaggressive
• uncombative
• friendly
• pleasant
• benevolent
• conciliatory
• nonbelligerent
• unwarlike
• quiet
• calm
• cordial
• gracious
• good-natured
• amiable
• unbelligerent
• ingratiating
• amicable
• sociable
• genial
• complaisant
• obliging
• easygoing
• uncontentious
• antimilitarist
• affable
• mild
• kindhearted
• relaxed
• tranquil
• serene
• gentle
• anti-imperialist
• benign
• kindly
• good-tempered

fighting

2 of 3

noun

as in combat

Related Words

• combat
• warfare
• battle
• skirmish
• engagement
• action
• civil war
• war
• world war
• cold war
• police action
• hostilities
• conflict
• holy war
• limited war
• conflagration
• hot war

Dissimilar Words

• peace
• disarmament
• demobilization
• demilitarization
• pacification
• truce
• calm
• tranquility
• peacefulness
• ceasefire

fighting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of fight

1

as in combating

to oppose (someone) in physical conflict

a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland

Synonyms & Similar Words

• battling
• combating
• beating
• dueling
• clashing (with)
• skirmishing (with)
• wrestling
• warring (against)
• hitting
• punching
• knocking
• slapping
• boxing
• jousting
• scrimmaging (with)
• striking
• pounding
• battering
• sparring
• slugging
• smacking
• banging
• hammering
• slamming
• brawling
• whacking
• thumping
• bashing
• smiting
• swatting
• buffeting
• grappling
• slogging
• swiping
• batting
• pasting
• bumping
• whaling
• belting
• scuffling
• clobbering
• bopping
• socking
• colliding
• tussling
• thwacking
• bludgeoning
• walloping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• submitting
• giving up
• surrendering

2

as in opposing

to strive to reduce or eliminate

a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice

Synonyms & Similar Words

• opposing
• combating
• battling
• countering
• resisting
• confronting
• contending (with)
• withstanding
• oppugning
• thwarting
• facing
• frustrating
• foiling
• checkmating
• baffling
• defying
• meeting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• promoting
• advancing
• encouraging
• fostering
• cultivating
• suffering
• furthering
• forwarding
• supporting
• bearing
• enduring
• nurturing
• advocating
• abiding
• nourishing
• upholding
• backing
• endorsing
• championing

3

as in competing

to engage in a contest

everyone on that street seems to be fighting to see who can create the gaudiest holiday lighting display

Synonyms & Similar Words

• competing
• contending
• battling
• racing
• vying
• rivaling
• playing
• facing off
• challenging
• maneuvering
• engaging
• jostling
• jockeying
• working
• trying out
• going out
• training

4

as in bickering

to express different opinions about something often angrily

if you kids continue to fight, I'm turning this car around and we're heading back home!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bickering
• arguing
• quarreling
• clashing
• brawling
• wrangling
• squabbling
• disputing
• debating
• scrapping
• discussing
• rowing
• controverting
• hassling
• quibbling
• spatting
• falling out
• altercating
• jarring
• tiffing
• argufying
• brabbling
• contesting
• mixing it up
• locking horns
• contending
• butting heads
• bandying words
• protesting
• tangling
• challenging
• daring
• kicking
• defying
• objecting
• fussing
• nitpicking
• considering
• caviling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• coexisting
• getting along
• accepting
• agreeing
• consenting
• concurring
• assenting

5

as in resisting

to refuse to give in to

I tried to fight the temptation to eat another cookie—and lost

Synonyms & Similar Words

• resisting
• opposing
• withstanding
• repelling
• combating
• bucking
• defying
• battling
• contesting
• thwarting
• countering
• contending (with)
• stemming
• contradicting
• challenging
• hindering
• disputing
• obstructing
• checking
• frustrating
• balking
• foiling
• baffling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• submitting (to)
• yielding (to)
• bowing (to)
• surrendering (to)
• succumbing (to)
• stooping (to)
• giving in (to)
• capitulating (to)
• knuckling under (to)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fighting

Adjective

After having two children and settling into post-fighting life on her farm in Riverside, Rousey seriously began to consider an MMA return last year. — CBS News, 17 May 2026

Speaking ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Johnson told the BBC that the troops should be sent to peaceful regions in non-fighting roles. — ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026

But this story isn’t just for pro-fighting fans. — Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer, 26 Oct. 2025

Some had joined Ukrainian combat units as volunteers, while others have sought to assist the Ukrainian people in non-fighting capacities. — Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023

But the computer model couldn’t distinguish fighting roosters from non-fighting roosters. — Jeff Horwitz, WSJ, 17 Oct. 2021

Noun

Eleazar stars as a talented actress whose career has stalled fighting for a second act years after her Hollywood breakthrough. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026

Investors fear a potential resumption of large-scale fighting in the strait or attacks on oil infrastructure in the region, some analysts said. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Eight months later, the fighting continues on all these fronts, with no resolution in sight. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 7 Oct. 2026

And yet so many of us think of fighting as antisocial behavior to be avoided at all costs. — Margaret Wappler, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

The Russians turned schools into fighting positions and surgical stations, and carted in boxes of Russian toys and notebooks as part of a plan to replace the Ukrainian school curriculum with a pro-Russia one. — Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Oct. 2026

Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office detectives served a search warrant Sunday and found several thousand roosters, along with what investigators described as training rings and fighting equipment. — Larry Seward, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

But the vast majority of the fighting is in the Kill Zone, with drones now responsible for 80 percent of all casualties, according to Rob Lee and other military analysts. — Greg Myre, NPR, 5 Oct. 2026

A week after a coalition of seven opposition groups announced an alliance to overthrow the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, fighting has broken out across several regions of the country of 130 million people. — Cameron Hudson, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Verb

Karen Huger is sober, Wendy Osefo is fighting to reclaim her reputation, Tia’s husband is cheating on her, and Ashley Darby remains committed to the sacred constitutional right to be in everybody’s business but her own. — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026

More than 8,000 of his employees are fighting Russian forces. — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2026

His sons, known as Los Chapitos, are fighting a rival faction for control of the criminal group. — Steve Fisher special Correspondent follow, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

That's a dangerous man, who seems to be fighting more for the respect from his family and those who encompass the football facility in Athens. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026

The kingdom launched a major offensive last week to support Yemeni government forces fighting the Houthis, but the rebels have so far held their ground. — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026

Her body was found while clearing rubble and fighting a fire at the site, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration, said Friday. — Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026

Advocates for the industry, along with some lawmakers, are fighting to save it. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Key Takeaways Allow wax to harden completely before attacking it with your stain-fighting arsenal. — Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 2026