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
-
In 2017, Charles, who played for the New York Knicks from 1988 to 1998, was asked to leave the arena after an altercation with a security guard.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
-
After the teens exited the vehicle, a physical altercation ensued.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The other funnymen of the time—Milton Berle with his lewd suggestiveness, Jackie Gleason with his baleful roar—did the same shtick over and over.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Finally, with the boom of a cannon and the roar of the crowd, each team member and coach rubs Howard’s Rock for luck before hurtling down the hill toward the home sideline.—
Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The prosecutor told jurors that Flores had been bickering with and mocking the man, who was heavily restrained and moving slowly, while escorting him to a courthouse holding cell after the man had a court hearing last August.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Nov. 2025
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The pair bicker and bond their way through the whimsical Panda Kingdom, a vibrant world that blends the everyday with the extraordinary, carrying animals and humans alike into something at once magical and mundane.—
Ben Croll,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
-
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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Should the Tigers end up missing a bowl game, the noise will grow much louder.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Their noise got loudest at night when the city became quiet.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
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 16 Nov. 2025.
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