Synonyms of battled

battled

verb

past tense of battle

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

• competed
• fought
• contended
• raced
• vied
• rivaled
• challenged
• played
• faced off
• engaged
• maneuvered
• jockeyed
• worked
• jostled
• went out
• tried out
• trained

2

as in faced

to enter into contest or conflict with

the two top-seeded tennis players battled each other for almost three hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

• faced
• encountered
• met
• fought
• engaged
• took on
• opposed
• contended
• rivaled
• emulated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• escaped
• retreated
• evaded
• eluded

3

as in fought

to oppose (someone) in physical conflict

the two armies battled each other for control of the bridge

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fought
• combated
• wrestled
• dueled
• beat
• clashed (with)
• skirmished (with)
• warred (against)
• hit
• punched
• knocked
• struck
• slapped
• smacked
• slugged
• buffeted
• sparred
• pounded
• battered
• slammed
• thumped
• banged
• whacked
• clobbered
• scrimmaged (with)
• swiped
• swatted
• hammered
• slogged
• smote
• jousted
• socked
• batted
• bashed
• bopped
• bludgeoned
• pasted
• boxed
• tussled
• grappled
• walloped
• bumped
• scuffled
• belted
• collided
• brawled
• thwacked
• whaled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• submitted
• surrendered
• gave up

4

as in opposed

to strive to reduce or eliminate

we must battle hunger and poverty wherever they exist

Synonyms & Similar Words

• opposed
• fought
• combated
• countered
• resisted
• confronted
• withstood
• contended (with)
• thwarted
• oppugned
• faced
• frustrated
• baffled
• foiled
• defied
• checkmated
• met

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• encouraged
• advanced
• promoted
• suffered
• cultivated
• fostered
• forwarded
• endured
• bore
• furthered
• nurtured
• supported
• advocated
• nourished
• backed
• upheld
• endorsed
• abided
• championed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of battled

Hundreds of firefighters battled blazes in Portugal, Greece and Spain on Sunday, with Spain and Italy sending reinforcements to Portugal to help with a massive blaze burning for more than three days. — Elena Becatoros, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026

This comes after Conwell battled through a 1-of-7 shooting start in Friday’s summer league opener to finish his summer league debut with 21 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, 3-of-7 shooting on threes and 4-of-4 shooting from the foul line. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 5 July 2026

Two shades of yellow, one closer to a ripe lemon, the other closer to gold, filled Kansas City’s FIFA World Cup Fan Fest as Ghana and Colombia battled for a spot in the Round of 16 on Friday night. — Latif Love july 4, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2026

About 115 firefighters along with 38 fire engines and an unknown number of volunteers battled the blaze, the fire service said. — ABC News, 4 July 2026

Nilsson battled end-stage kidney disease for more than four years and received dialysis three days a week, according to a family post on his Facebook page. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Elon Musk and Bezos cannot buy these spots because some of our visionary ancestors battled successfully to preserve this legacy for future generations. — Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 3 July 2026

Born in 1790, Force grew up hearing stories from soldiers who had battled the British, which instilled in him a lifelong interest in the fight for independence. — T. H. Breen, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026

Japan battled valiantly but ultimately couldn’t spend enough time on the ball to threaten Brazil. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 30 June 2026