conflict

1 a lack of agreement or harmony the conflict between absolute freedom and personal responsibility Synonyms discord, disaccord, discordance, discordancy, disharmony, dissension (also dissention), dissent, dissidence, dissonance, disunion, disunity, division, friction, infighting, inharmony, schism, strife, variance, war, warfareRelated Words clash, collision, competition, contention; altercation, argument, bicker, brawl, debate, disagreement, dispute, divide, fissure; falling-out, fight, hassle, jar, miff, mix-up, quarrel, row, run-in, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle; incompatibility, incongruence, incongruity, incongruousness, inconsistence, inconsistency, inconsonance, inharmoniousness; animosity, antagonism, antipathy, cold war, enmity, hostility, ill will, rancorNear Antonyms concurrence, cooperationAntonyms accord, agreement, concord, concordance, harmony, peace

2 a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups an armed conflict between strikers and strikebreakers Synonyms battle, clash, combat, fight, contest, dustup, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, struggle, tussleRelated Words pitched battle, rough-and-tumble; affray [chiefly British], battle royal, brawl, broil, donnybrook, free-for-all, melee (also mêlée), mix-up, ruckus, ruction; blows, fistfight, fisticuffs, grapple, handgrips, punch-out, punch-up [chiefly British], slugfest; confrontation, duel, face-off, joust; altercation, argle-bargle [chiefly British], argument, argy-bargy [chiefly British], contretemps, controversy, cross fire, disagreement, dispute, falling-out, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, row, spat, squabble, tangle, tiff, wrangle; catfightNear Antonyms truce

3 a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups the United Nations strives to prevent international conflicts Synonyms conflagration, war, hostilities, hot warRelated Words civil war, cold war, holy war, limited war, police action, world war; action, battle, engagement, skirmish; combat, fighting, warfareNear Antonyms demilitarization, demobilization, disarmament; pacification; cease-fire, truce; calm, peacefulness, tranquillity (or tranquility)Antonyms peace

4 an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another the eternal conflict between the forces of good and evil Synonyms ball game, battle, combat, competition, contest, confrontation, contention, dogfight, duel, face-off, grapple, match, rivalry, strife, struggle, sweepstakes (also sweep-stake), tug-of-war, war, warfareRelated Words horse race, nail-biter; showdown; clash, collision, discord, friction; argument, controversy, debate, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), quarrel, row, wrangleNear Antonyms concord, harmony, peace