as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily
the Wilsons were always loudly brawling, and the neighbors were always shutting their windows
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Recent Examples of brawling
Sports could be dangerous even without brawling in UFC’s Octagon, an eight-sided cage.
—
Bart Jansen, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Having a cyberarm might offset glitches in brawling attacks to encourage players to take more risk dice during a first fight.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
From taking throat punches to brawling naked, the Oscar winner manages to balance the physical comedy of the film while still centering the story’s emotional heart.
—James Mercadante, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Cottonwood Creek was brawling down its rocky channel, making a loud racket in the stillness of the morning.
—Fred C. Mercer, Outdoor Life, 14 Aug. 2025
Bart Jansen, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Having a cyberarm might offset glitches in brawling attacks to encourage players to take more risk dice during a first fight.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
From taking throat punches to brawling naked, the Oscar winner manages to balance the physical comedy of the film while still centering the story’s emotional heart.
—James Mercadante, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Cottonwood Creek was brawling down its rocky channel, making a loud racket in the stillness of the morning.
—Fred C. Mercer, Outdoor Life, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brawling
Verb
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Coaches are also bickering about money, a topic that would have felt out of place 10 years ago.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
5 Sep. 2025
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The casting here is perfection itself, with Cumberbatch and Colman bickering back and forth with all the drawing-room style of a new age Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall, or maybe the Burton and Taylor of The Taming of the Shrew with a dab of Virginia Woolf.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The approximate number of Americans who died fighting the Nazis in World War II.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
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Proctor also investigated the Walshe case and other criminal cases in Norfolk County and those defense attorneys are fighting to get information from Proctor’s phone backup archives that could exonerate their clients.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Who doesn’t have childhood memories of arguing about Boardwalk and Park Place until the popcorn bowl got knocked over during an evening of wholesome family entertainment?—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
11 Sep. 2025
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In one video, a female student and the professor can be heard arguing over gender identity being taught in a children’s literature class.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Will the two be allowed to wed, or will Ellen’s brothers, quarrelling over their father’s chair, bargain her off to other suitors to improve their chances?—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brawling. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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