1
as in clash
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
they were thrown out of the party after starting a brawl
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in altercation
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
the student drama society's decision to put on the controversial play prompted a brawl at the school board meeting
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in roar
loud, confused, and usually inharmonious sound
we could hear the brawl of the river rapids ahead of us before we could actually see them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to bicker
to express different opinions about something often angrily
the Wilsons were always loudly brawling, and the neighbors were always shutting their windows
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of brawl
Marcus Lim, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
Both are perfectly capable of turning sequences that teeter on the edge of bathos into brawls.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2025
Sports could be dangerous even without brawling in UFC’s Octagon, an eight-sided cage.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brawl
Noun
The film followed Chan Lok-kwun (Raymond Lam), a mainland refugee trying to pay his way to a fake ID by winning bare-knuckle brawls.
—Marcus Lim, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
Both are perfectly capable of turning sequences that teeter on the edge of bathos into brawls.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
Miami hosts Seattle Tuesday night -- the same teams that brawled after Seattle’s recent Leagues Cup title-game win.
—Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2025
Sports could be dangerous even without brawling in UFC’s Octagon, an eight-sided cage.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brawl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brawl
Noun
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Much of this strife, including throughout the 1967-1970 civil war and subsequent clashes over the decades, has also been closely tied to feuds across ethnic and territorial lines.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk are in a takeover clash over the obesity biotech Metsera, with both pharmaceutical giants raising their bids for the startup as of Monday.—
Annika Kim Constantino,Bertha Coombs,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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During the altercation, the security guard shot and killed the man, McCabe said.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
7 Jan. 2026
-
In 2019, Dykstra had drug and terroristic threat charges dropped after an altercation with an Uber driver in New Jersey in 2018.—
Matt Moret,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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An onboard synthesizer manipulates a small set of core sounds to mimic everything from the roar of a jet plane to the flushing of a toilet through a little speaker in the Brick.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The people want to see Varang’s fierce roars!—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Someone on the bench started bickering with Cameroon’s first goalscorer, Junior Tchamadeu, during a break in play.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The Federal Reserve chair and the president stood stiffly, side by side, in matching hard hats, bickering on a building site, for all the world to see.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
29 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Mia — who’s blinded by the allure of a newborn that’s long eluded her and her husband — doesn’t heed Riley’s warning about the nature of the child, and in the course of their melee, Riley accidentally crashes through the second-story window of their family home.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Nov. 2025
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The story opens at Kyoto’s Tenryu-ji Temple, where 292 participants gather for the first battle — a vast, night-long melee staged without digital enhancement.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Plus, a jury acquitted a man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent, a deli and a cookbook author are in a trademark dispute, and more.—
Li Goldstein,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Nov. 2025
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While carriage disputes are nothing news, and Disney has had high-profile ones with DirecTV and Charter in recent years, the YouTube TV situation is unique.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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With the game tied at three in the final minutes, the noise level on the field sounded like multiple 747s were inches away from your ears.—
Mac Engel
January 7,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Jan. 2026
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Turns out, those crystal bowls and milk glass dishes—both of which made ample clinking noises—were perfect for alerting grandma that little ones were snagging candy before dinner.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Barton gave the jury the impression of a man prepared to go into daily combat on numerous fronts, constantly fighting one battle after another, in service of his principles.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Players fought, fought, fought, gave us every chance in the world.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brawl. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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