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
The soldiers’ pastimes of drinking, gambling, and brawling also offended many Bostonians, who retained the piety of their Pilgrim ancestors.
—
Time, 9 Oct. 2025
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
Time, 9 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brawling
Verb
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Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy, Reese Witherspoon’s Bradley Jackson, and the other members of The Morning Show’s newsroom and its network are once again bickering and backstabbing.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
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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
Verb
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Season-long struggles; still fighting Charlotte has five games left on the schedule, starting with North Texas (6-1, 2-1 American) next Friday night on ESPN2.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Oct. 2025
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Whispers of bad blood between Brandy and Monica circulated after the song hit airwaves, fueling speculation with its narrative about them fighting over a boy.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Spanberger has called for the state government to stay out of decisions about who uses what bathrooms and locker rooms, arguing that's best left up to parents, teachers, students, and their school districts.—
Margaret Barthel,
NPR,
16 Oct. 2025
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Easley has voted against a few proposals made by Superintendent Hill, including the SYDKIMYL contract extension and this year’s budget, arguing its teacher raises were too small.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The discovery was entirely by chance, and happened when an officer responded to Mirella's parents' residence after neighbors reported quarreling, per several outlets.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
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The political malaise risks metastasizing into an economic crisis because the quarreling political parties cannot agree on a way forward, such as passing a budget and addressing the country's alarming budget deficit and mounting national debt.—
John Toher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brawling. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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