1
as in competed
to engage in a contest
the two teams, which have long been archrivals, will battle on the court for the state championship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
3
as in fought
to oppose (someone) in physical conflict
the two armies battled each other for control of the bridge
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in opposed
to strive to reduce or eliminate
we must battle hunger and poverty wherever they exist
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of battled
At spring training in 1973, Lopes battled with Lee Lacy for the second base job and lost.
—
Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
But the Pioneers battled back, with freshman Clarke Caswell tipping in a pass with just under three minutes left to force overtime.
—Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Crews battled a massive fire at a factory in Queens on Friday night.
—Katie Houlis, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026
Cloud battled migraine headaches due to a previous injury, which Levinson suggests was partly to blame — and perhaps an easy excuse — for his dependence on painkillers.
—Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2026
The trial represents the third time that antitrust officials have battled with Live Nation in the past 16 years.
—Leah Nylen, Bloomberg, 9 Apr. 2026
Kings coach Doug Christie was pleased with the way his team battled despite the absences of DeMar DeRozan (hamstring), Drew Eubanks (thumb), De’Andre Hunter (eye), Zach LaVine (finger), Keegan Murray (ankle), Domantas Sabonis (knee) and Russell Westbrook (toe).
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Since then, Hezbollah has dominated the military scene inside Lebanon and repeatedly battled with Israel.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2026
Reisma battled injuries throughout the season but showed clear improvement late, particularly by extending her range offensively.
—Aaron Segal, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2026
Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
But the Pioneers battled back, with freshman Clarke Caswell tipping in a pass with just under three minutes left to force overtime.
—Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Crews battled a massive fire at a factory in Queens on Friday night.
—Katie Houlis, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026
Cloud battled migraine headaches due to a previous injury, which Levinson suggests was partly to blame — and perhaps an easy excuse — for his dependence on painkillers.
—Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2026
The trial represents the third time that antitrust officials have battled with Live Nation in the past 16 years.
—Leah Nylen, Bloomberg, 9 Apr. 2026
Kings coach Doug Christie was pleased with the way his team battled despite the absences of DeMar DeRozan (hamstring), Drew Eubanks (thumb), De’Andre Hunter (eye), Zach LaVine (finger), Keegan Murray (ankle), Domantas Sabonis (knee) and Russell Westbrook (toe).
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Apr. 2026
Since then, Hezbollah has dominated the military scene inside Lebanon and repeatedly battled with Israel.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2026
Reisma battled injuries throughout the season but showed clear improvement late, particularly by extending her range offensively.
—Aaron Segal, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for battled
Verb
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Matt Riddle, Killer Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Shotzi Blackheart, Donovan Dijak, Bishop Dyer, Austin Aries, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Priscilla Kelly and several others have all competed in WWE at one point or another.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
6 Apr. 2026
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All eight players competed in the first round, with the top four scores advancing to the semifinals and the two highest semifinal scores advancing to the final round.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the third inning Rocker was faced with runners on the corners with Spencer Steer up to bat with two outs, and Rocker retired the left fielder in three pitches, ending with a ground out to third base to escape the inning with no damage.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Apr. 2026
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First-year manager Kurt Suzuki said the pitchers the Angels have faced are part of the issue.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For decades, activists and ecologists have fought to take advantage of our watershed for recreational and community life, with remarkable success.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
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The company fought to preserve that business.—
Binyamin Appelbaum,
Mercury News,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Following the deadly shooting of two Americans by immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year, congressional Democrats have opposed funding ICE and CBP without policy changes, but the two parties have been unable to reach an agreement on reforms.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
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Iraqi militias form a key node in Iran’s network of regional proxies opposed to the US and Israel, and Baghdad also relies on Tehran for supplies of natural gas.—
Patrick Sykes,
Fortune,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Beatty has not disputed that renovations are needed, but contended that it was rushed and did not go through proper review.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
7 Apr. 2026
-
One of Aguirre’s trial attorneys, Michael Sklar, contended that Fernandez was the one who hit the boy with a belt, shot him with a BB gun and was responsible for much of the abuse prior to his death.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Richard Funk was unlike many of the other fraternity boys Welsh had encountered.—
Patrick Salland,
Kansas City Star,
7 Apr. 2026
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The problems Lacy and Rogers encountered in their graduate program are exactly the kinds of issues the update to Title II of the ADA aims to fix.—
Jonaki Mehta,
NPR,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the midst of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, TNG also combated racial discrimination in the news industry in hiring and promotion.—
Errol Salamon,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
11 Mar. 2026
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Catholic and Lutheran churches and mutual benefit societies preserved cultural heritage, combated isolation and shaped the new state’s religious culture for generations.—
Daniel Cueto-Villalobos,
The Conversation,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As the image spread online, an ambulance raced to find them.—
Diaa Hadid,
NPR,
10 Apr. 2026
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Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Alibaba has raced to expand its AI offerings amid intense competition in China, building on its flagship Qwen large language model and chatbot app.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Battled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/battled. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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