as in to bicker
to express different opinions about something often angrily
this discussion is so silly we might as well altercate on how many angels can dance on the point of a needle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for altercate
Verb
-
But Tilly and Gershon playfully bickered onstage as the former remembered things slightly differently, with Tilly saying the problem had more to do with a shot of her hand on Gershon's crotch that was deemed too realistic.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
8 June 2026 -
While things have calmed over the years, the siblings still bicker and often disagree.—
Eva Remijan-Toba,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Bass has called for hiring more officers and defending her Inside Safe homelessness program, while Raman has criticized the cost of police raises, called for broader public-safety responses and argued that the city needs a more accountable and cost-effective homelessness system.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
9 June 2026
-
California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges, and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE) argues that in forcing more than 90,000 workers to regularly commute to state offices, Newsom is violating the California Environmental Quality Act.—
Kassia Bonesteel,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
In the 1970s, what was then West Germany co-produced the Tornado bomber with the UK and Italy; then in the 1990s Germany worked with the UK, Italy and Spain to produce the dog-fighting Eurofighter jet.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
But somehow, the Valkyries went cold and the Storm kept fighting.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
He's previously quarreled with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook and Draymond Green.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2026
-
Now might not seem the moment for Democrats to be quarrelling, but many of them believe that the only way to build the Party back up is to remake it.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Following the United States’ clash against Paraguay tonight, the team will have two more matches in group play.—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said the system that produced the storms, including high winds and hail, was moving eastward Thursday, fueled by cool air from Canada clashing with warm, humid air from the South.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Callie and Arizona: Another couple spatting over kids.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Mulroney, Ackerman, Snow, and Newman turn this story of spatting WAGS into an explosive, addictive watch.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Reading these conversations feels like attending a party at which each new guest talks over the one before, disputing and undermining, gossiping and bringing into doubt the fundamental purpose of their coming together.—
Joe Dunthorne,
The New York Review of Books,
6 June 2026
-
But Beatty disputed that assertion about ex officio voting rights, as did Kaiser.—
Janay Kingsberry,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
Fearless and willing to brawl for her convictions, Teela, who is the biological daughter of the Sorceress and adopted daughter of the Man-At-Arms, teaches He-Man how to be a crusader of Eternia.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
-
More than 13,000 smoke-damage claims have been filed, though many of those have yet to be resolved as homeowners and insurers brawl over what is and isn’t covered.—
Jason Henry,
Daily News,
31 May 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Altercate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/altercate. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
