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

Following recent fighting, the stockpile is now estimated to be between 759 and 827, a decrease of at least 65% since before the conflict began. — ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026

In an earlier update, Eksteen said the fighting likely left her grounded, but is not believed to be the cause of her symptoms. — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026

While the boys were raised in Hiroshima, their parents and new baby brother were sent to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, as the fighting continued. — Rina Nakano, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026

During the last round of internal fighting, the United Nations designated Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 22 million people – three-quarters of the population – in desperate need of aid and protection. — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026

The rationale was simple—winning the race to build these weapons would enable the US and its allies to achieve victory in World War II, hasten an end to the fighting, and ultimately save lives. — Michael Posner, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

But five months of fighting in the Middle East have left the nation's missile inventory depleted to the point where analysts feel they could soon be exhausted. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

The attacks mark a major escalation since a truce in 2022 largely halted fighting. — Matthew Lee, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

Teams are working tirelessly to treat the wounded as fighting continues. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026

Verb

Knight has spent much of his main roster run accusing Reigns and the Bloodline of using strength in numbers without fighting fair fights. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026

Last week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete and a third was killed in the Peloponnese. — Elena Becatoros, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Cyclosporiasis isn't typically fatal, and people's bodies seem to get better at fighting it off in places where the parasite is more common, including tropical and subtropical regions. — Pien Huang, NPR, 2 Aug. 2026

Earlier this week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete, while a third was killed on the Peloponnese. — ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026

This year, the district will be one of only a few in the country to pilot crime-fighting drones. — Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2026

While Shatner was battling his cancer, his daughter was fighting her own life-threatening diagnosis. — Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026

With the leashed dog feeling vulnerable, this could lead to dogs fighting and getting injured, or worse. — Tanya Edwards, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2026

Residents are fighting a proposal to build 192 apartments in seven buildings on a vacant slope near the Oceanside-Vista border just south of state Route 78. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2026