1
as in to fight
to oppose (someone) in physical conflict
a general eager to combat the enemy on his own ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to oppose
to strive to reduce or eliminate
must marshal all of our resources to combat this disease
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in field
active fighting during the course of a war
a soldier who served throughout the war without actually seeing combat
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
the two stags entered a furious combat for dominance of the herd
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in battle
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
the fierce ideological combat between the religionists and the secularists
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of combat
Toni Sutton, People.com, 11 July 2025
Luthor combats Superman through a combination of science and technology — injecting nanobot GPS trackers into Superman’s bloodstream — using methods that recall the hideous Covid manipulation.
—Armond White, National Review, 11 July 2025
Idaho Statesman, 8 July 2025
Having never experienced this form of combat, most countries in the world, including the United States, are now far behind the Ukrainians in this regard.
—Jon Finer, Foreign Affairs, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for combat
Verb
Levoit Top Fill Humidifier The best-selling Levoit humidifier skillfully combats the dry air in my home, which really helped during the colder months when my skin and sinuses suffer most.
—Toni Sutton, People.com, 11 July 2025
Luthor combats Superman through a combination of science and technology — injecting nanobot GPS trackers into Superman’s bloodstream — using methods that recall the hideous Covid manipulation.
—Armond White, National Review, 11 July 2025
Noun
The wing’s largest deployment involved more than 500 airmen in 2016 to support combat operations against the Islamic State group.
—Idaho Statesman, 8 July 2025
Having never experienced this form of combat, most countries in the world, including the United States, are now far behind the Ukrainians in this regard.
—Jon Finer, Foreign Affairs, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for combat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combat
Verb
-
Experts say the relatively simple way to survive this current is to float, stay as calm as possible and don’t fight it.—
Tresa Baldas,
Freep.com,
21 July 2025
-
The tribe also has fought to preserve shrinking numbers of the c'waam and koptu, two fish species central to the three tribal cultures that form the tribe.—
Debra Utacia Krol,
AZCentral.com,
21 July 2025
Verb
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This is apt when considering the impacts of the Trump administration’s policy agenda, which has generated various opposing forces on economic growth this year.—
Jeffrey Schulze,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
-
Washington County Treasurer and task force Chair Scott Henke said three of the five task force members opposed Accel's plan.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
15 July 2025
Noun
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Baseball’s technical folks put three-dimensional images on the Truist Park field of the Los Angeles Dodgers players at their positions from that night of April 8, 1974 at old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.—
Terence Moore,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
-
To satisfy presidential demands, field offices are directed to meet new daily arrest quotas—75 arrests per office—raising agency-wide targets to 1,200–1,500 arrests per day, up from only about a few hundred.—
Juwayriah Wright,
Time,
15 July 2025
Noun
-
The skirmish left the mother of Jones' child with a black eye.—
Chris Ramirez,
jsonline.com,
18 July 2025
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The skirmish has thrust into the public eye a falling-out between two political heavyweights once seen as close allies.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
16 July 2025
Noun
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The injuries that eventually cut the third baseman’s career short began to take hold right before Forde lost a years-long battle with breast cancer.—
Abbey Mastracco,
Hartford Courant,
19 July 2025
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Coming weeks after Lexington and Concord, the battle marked the British effort to control the hills surrounding Boston’s harbor.—
Brian T. Allen,
National Review,
19 July 2025
Noun
-
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky kicked off the proceedings in Rome as Moscow pounded Ukraine’s capital with another major missile and drone attack overnight in some of the heaviest attacks on Kyiv in the more than three-year war.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
11 July 2025
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From 21 March on, the gang launched attacks against several areas in the communes of Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite and Marchand Dessalines.—
Jacqueline Charles
July 11,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
Steve Garcia When the betting odds were first published for the Calvin Kattar vs. Steve Garcia featherweight clash, Garcia was listed as a -140 betting favorite over the +115 Kattar.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
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President Donald Trump broke his silence one day after reports of a clash between U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino about the release of a memo regarding Jeffrey Epstein, which prompted conservatives on social media to call for the president to fire her.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleged Amazon didn't consider the Falcon 9 due to an intense and personal rivalry between Bezos and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
18 July 2025
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However, the trade rivalry between the U.S. and China has been weighing heavily on the industry.—
Christiaan Hetzner,
Fortune,
15 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combat. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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