as in quarrels
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
judging from all the slamming and banging, I'd say there was some sort of altercation going on next door
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of altercations
During his time with the Pistons, he was known for getting into altercations with opposing players, most recently in February 2026, when he was suspended for seven games following a fight with the Charlotte Hornets.
—
Dejanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
Court documents describe multiple violent altercations between Spencer and his wife leading up to the murder and one arrest after Spencer hit his wife and threatened to kill her.
—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Aside from some verbal altercations and the scuffle after the match, the protests were smaller than at Iran's first game and featured more security from the outset.
—
ABC News,
21 June 2026
Many fouls were committed, including physical altercations, reckless tackles, and verbal spats.
—
Andrew Pereira,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
18 June 2026
Over the last few months, Taylor has been embroiled in a series of legal battles with Mortensen, first beginning in February with a pair of investigations by Utah police departments into allegations each made that the other acted violently during altercations that month.
—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
4 June 2026
Durso alleged that Valle was upset after the previous altercations and lost his cool when his friend’s vehicle was damaged by the crowd of youths who rocked and shook the vehicle Valle and his friends arrived in.
—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
1 June 2026
Charles Melton plays an American GI named Private K who’s trying to locate his daughter and keeps getting into bloody altercations.
—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
20 May 2026
The arrest was the culminating incident in a string of altercations between the couple over their son Lyrik, then 5.
—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Dejanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
Court documents describe multiple violent altercations between Spencer and his wife leading up to the murder and one arrest after Spencer hit his wife and threatened to kill her.
—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2026
Aside from some verbal altercations and the scuffle after the match, the protests were smaller than at Iran's first game and featured more security from the outset.
—
ABC News,
21 June 2026
Many fouls were committed, including physical altercations, reckless tackles, and verbal spats.
—
Andrew Pereira,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
18 June 2026
Over the last few months, Taylor has been embroiled in a series of legal battles with Mortensen, first beginning in February with a pair of investigations by Utah police departments into allegations each made that the other acted violently during altercations that month.
—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
4 June 2026
Durso alleged that Valle was upset after the previous altercations and lost his cool when his friend’s vehicle was damaged by the crowd of youths who rocked and shook the vehicle Valle and his friends arrived in.
—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
1 June 2026
Charles Melton plays an American GI named Private K who’s trying to locate his daughter and keeps getting into bloody altercations.
—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
20 May 2026
The arrest was the culminating incident in a string of altercations between the couple over their son Lyrik, then 5.
—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for altercations
Noun
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Rounding out the top five names were seven write-in votes for the Sacramento Capitals or Capitols — which could be nicknamed the Caps to avoid quarrels over the spelling — and six votes for the Sacramento Stingers or Sting, referencing the collegiate Sacramento State Hornets.
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In a 2024 study, researchers found that chimpanzee mothers tended to step in to defend their children in quarrels—say, over food or space in a tree—in about half of cases the researchers observed in the wild.
Noun
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Showdowns over international inspectors caused years of disputes between the US and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and more recently Iran.
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Council members ultimately said the purpose of the sister city program was to build relationships between communities, not to settle international political disputes.
Noun
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For Ossoff, the battleground appears to extend beyond policy disagreements and partisan loyalties.
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Tell me about those disagreements and whether the G7 was able to come to any resolution here.
Noun
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The sequence required full-scale versions of Corlys’ (Steve Trussaint) and Lohar’s (Abigail Thorn) ships to be built and usable on both a dry tank and wet tank, thousands of gallons of water and extras and, naturally, numerous CGI dragon fights requiring mechanical bucks.
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At 31, Moises concludes his UFC tenure with an 8-8 record over 16 fights, having faced recent struggles with three losses in his last four outings, including consecutive defeats.
Noun
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Has this reignited the controversies surrounding you and your translation?
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Around the same time, Hogshead began a letter writing campaign aimed at drawing broader attention to Butler’s controversies and urging other volleyball organizations and teams to disassociate themselves from him.
Noun
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Interspersed with the adventure – and quite a few brawls with bad guys – are flashbacks to Kara’s time on Krypton and adopting Krypto.
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Such brawls can ignite without warning, and are among the reasons humans are forbidden by county law to get within 50 feet of the horses.
Noun
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Attorneys posed dueling accounts of Payton and Martin’s roles in the deadly 2022 K Street shootings as closing arguments resumed Wednesday in the pair’s murder trial in Sacramento Superior Court.
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Even during the high court arguments in April, advocates for children worried that these impacts were being overlooked.
Noun
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False hopes about working in retirement speak to fundamental misunderstandings about retirement and the labor market, experts say.
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Also, misunderstandings can be dangerous.
Cite this Entry
“Altercations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/altercations. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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