1
as in frictions
a lack of agreement or harmony
the conflict between absolute freedom and personal responsibility
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clashes
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
an armed conflict between strikers and strikebreakers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in hostilities
a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups
the United Nations strives to prevent international conflicts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in rivalries
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
the eternal conflict between the forces of good and evil
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in collides
to be out of harmony or agreement usually noticeably
his statement conflicts with the facts, as given in the police report
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of conflicts
Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025
These two conflicts heat up very quickly, with Dale plunging his elbow into the soup and then getting in Ron’s face, telling him to kiss it.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
What should be an unforgettable weekend veers into chaos, revealing secrets and conflicts that threaten to turn everything upside down in ways no one could have anticipated.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025
As is often the case when Arsenal and Chelsea meet, this match had the potential to be one of those gloriously uninhibited conflicts.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
In contexts not concerning the elite private colleges of New England and their decades-old conflicts and syllabi and on-campus squabbles, this mode of prestige media procedure matters absolutely and enormously, at scales difficult to tabulate.
—Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Growing land-grabbing conflicts in some territories in the Amazon are adding to the vaccination challenges.
—Adriana Brasileiro, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
How have the on-going conflicts – Ukraine at your doorstep, and between Israel and Palestine – impacted your selection process this year?
—Annika Pham, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
That's not to minimize our current conflicts.
—Susan Page, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Arkansas Online, 3 Nov. 2025
This trend conflicts with how deeply rural populations value family and friendship, and fails to capture how rural populations interact with the indoor spaces that are central to their daily lives.
—William Jones, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025
The center guides parties through community issues like noise but also conflicts with roommates and landlords.
—Gina Lee Castro, jsonline.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Morrisey hasn’t withdrawn his executive order, which conflicts with the state’s immunization law, and has generated confusion and uncertainty.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2025
Work culture, tennis or otherwise, rewards busyness and often self-sacrifice, which conflicts with self-care and mental health.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
In addition, the act contains a preemption provision that expresses that no state can enforce a law that conflicts with the act.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2025
These cultural differences stoked the media fires further, as Verrett is larger than life in every sense, unapologetically himself and proud of it, which conflicts with Norwegian janteloven.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 16 Sep. 2025
Optical precision, for instance, often conflicts with mechanical strength.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
Some of those territories were invaded with the tacit support of Western allies keen to prop up an anti-communist leader, at a time when proxy conflicts backed by the US and the Soviet Union raged across the Global South.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025
These two conflicts heat up very quickly, with Dale plunging his elbow into the soup and then getting in Ron’s face, telling him to kiss it.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
What should be an unforgettable weekend veers into chaos, revealing secrets and conflicts that threaten to turn everything upside down in ways no one could have anticipated.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025
As is often the case when Arsenal and Chelsea meet, this match had the potential to be one of those gloriously uninhibited conflicts.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
In contexts not concerning the elite private colleges of New England and their decades-old conflicts and syllabi and on-campus squabbles, this mode of prestige media procedure matters absolutely and enormously, at scales difficult to tabulate.
—Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Growing land-grabbing conflicts in some territories in the Amazon are adding to the vaccination challenges.
—Adriana Brasileiro, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
How have the on-going conflicts – Ukraine at your doorstep, and between Israel and Palestine – impacted your selection process this year?
—Annika Pham, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
That's not to minimize our current conflicts.
—Susan Page, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
That law conflicts with the state constitution, Womack said.
—Arkansas Online, 3 Nov. 2025
This trend conflicts with how deeply rural populations value family and friendship, and fails to capture how rural populations interact with the indoor spaces that are central to their daily lives.
—William Jones, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025
The center guides parties through community issues like noise but also conflicts with roommates and landlords.
—Gina Lee Castro, jsonline.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Morrisey hasn’t withdrawn his executive order, which conflicts with the state’s immunization law, and has generated confusion and uncertainty.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2025
Work culture, tennis or otherwise, rewards busyness and often self-sacrifice, which conflicts with self-care and mental health.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
In addition, the act contains a preemption provision that expresses that no state can enforce a law that conflicts with the act.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2025
These cultural differences stoked the media fires further, as Verrett is larger than life in every sense, unapologetically himself and proud of it, which conflicts with Norwegian janteloven.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 16 Sep. 2025
Optical precision, for instance, often conflicts with mechanical strength.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conflicts
Noun
-
If Beijing now doubles down on subsidizing both cutting-edge and traditional industries, the result could be an even greater glut of Chinese products globally, exacerbating trade frictions.—
Shaoyu Yuan,
The Conversation,
5 Nov. 2025
-
The measures were greeted with relief by many in the global business community, which for months has been ensnared in the uncertainty of up-and-down economic frictions between the world’s two largest economies.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Since Assad’s ousting, Syria has seen flare-ups of deadly sectarian violence, with clashes erupting between security forces and those loyal to the former president, including in Syria’s coastal Latakia region in March.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
-
As for South Sudan, a senior United Nations official said earlier this week that the ongoing conflict in Sudan is causing destabilization in South Sudan, including armed clashes and food insecurity.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
What Happens Next The current lull in hostilities may be more strategic than permanent, offering a brief window for both sides to reassess and recalibrate.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
-
One can be sure that the utility of having hostilities with Venezuela for this case is not lost on the administration.—
David Smilde,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Few crosstown rivalries can compare to the one Hingham and Notre Dame Academy have developed the past few decades.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The history of contemporary music is littered with hundreds of rivalries both amicable and otherwise.—
Jason Newman,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Your dedicated Slack channels, private discords and endless Reddit threads.—
April Uchitel,
Flow Space,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
David Wolf, the executive director of the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Scottsbluff, said experts estimate that as many 10 people died for every mile of the trail ‒ perhaps as many as 20,000 travelers, plus an unknown number of Native Americans killed during skirmishes.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Amid the skirmishes that ensued, federal agents fired a chemical agent toward a protester at near-point-blank range, and security personnel later opened fire on a U-Haul truck that had backed up toward a barrier on the island’s bridge, injuring the driver and an apparent bystander.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Germany and France fought centuries of bloody wars before becoming the bedrock of the European Union.—
Jon Medved,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Fossil fuel production is still increasing, driving up planet-warming pollution; the United States is in climate denial mode; and turbulent geopolitics have pushed the climate crisis down the agenda and into the culture wars.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
At the same time, food aid was delayed for tens of millions of people as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were caught up in legal battles related to the shutdown.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
10 Nov. 2025
-
River Raisin National Battlefield Park in Monroe honors the history of the January 1813 battles of the War of 1812 and their aftermath.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Conflicts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conflicts. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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