1
as in frictions
a lack of agreement or harmony
the conflict between absolute freedom and personal responsibility
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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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
Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 28 Jan. 2026
Geopolitical tensions, from ongoing conflicts to trade frictions, add fuel to gold’s safe-haven appeal.
—Sean Lee, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Experts say several factors have driven the sharp rise over the past year, including persistent concerns about inflation, ongoing global conflicts, and the possibility of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
—Brady Halbleib, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Set into motion by an innocuous wish, the James family is forced to explore their generational differences, intra-marital conflicts, raging hormones, and professional anxieties, in a complicated web of body-swapping madness.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2026
Daredevil and the early Netflix-era Defenders shows staged their conflicts closer to street level; Hawkeye and Echo kept their stakes largely personal.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2026
That action has led to mass protests and conflicts between federal agents and local residents.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
According to Butler, human resources teams must also be trained to understand power dynamics in order to effectively resolve conflicts.
—Essence, 26 Jan. 2026
Where past administrations spent years bogged down in distant conflicts, this administration operates in hours.
—Dustin Olson, Boston Herald, 25 Jan. 2026
Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
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
Noun
Compared to conflicts involving major powers since World War II, Moscow’s losses are staggering.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 28 Jan. 2026
Geopolitical tensions, from ongoing conflicts to trade frictions, add fuel to gold’s safe-haven appeal.
—Sean Lee, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Experts say several factors have driven the sharp rise over the past year, including persistent concerns about inflation, ongoing global conflicts, and the possibility of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
—Brady Halbleib, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Set into motion by an innocuous wish, the James family is forced to explore their generational differences, intra-marital conflicts, raging hormones, and professional anxieties, in a complicated web of body-swapping madness.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2026
Daredevil and the early Netflix-era Defenders shows staged their conflicts closer to street level; Hawkeye and Echo kept their stakes largely personal.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2026
That action has led to mass protests and conflicts between federal agents and local residents.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
According to Butler, human resources teams must also be trained to understand power dynamics in order to effectively resolve conflicts.
—Essence, 26 Jan. 2026
Where past administrations spent years bogged down in distant conflicts, this administration operates in hours.
—Dustin Olson, Boston Herald, 25 Jan. 2026
Verb
The description conflicts with the White House’s portrayal of the two women as long estranged.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conflicts
Noun
-
Starmer’s diplomatic shift appears to mirror that of Canada which signed a trade agreement with China earlier this month following a visit by Carney, as Ottawa appears to diversify trade and investment partners amid persistent frictions with Washington.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Understanding these frictions before adding more exposure can prevent unpleasant surprises later.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
And Eat Street was the scene of a series of clashes, before federal officers and local and state police pulled back and protesters took over the area.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Considered to be one of the earliest TV villains, the reality television alum was known for his lack of personal hygiene, as well as his frequent clashes with fellow housemates.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Russia's bigger army has managed to capture about 20% of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of 2022.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Russia’s bigger army has managed to capture about 20% of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of 2022.—
Kamila Hrabchuk,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
So brace yourselves for the regional rivalries.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets will meet again tonight in a matchup that remains one of the NBA's most heated rivalries, even as both franchises enter a rebuilding phase.—
Julianna Duennes Russ,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Your dedicated Slack channels, private discords and endless Reddit threads.—
April Uchitel,
Flow Space,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
These were not skirmishes but full-scale conflicts, usually costing tens—sometimes hundreds—of thousands of lives.—
Robert Kagan,
The Atlantic,
18 Jan. 2026
-
The tactics of federal immigration agents have come under intense scrutiny after the shooting of Good and growing skirmishes between federal officers and protesters.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Or perhaps that is the concern conjured by the hysteria of Y2K—with its fads of fears pumped by a skepticism over technology and wars people could not hold so freshly after the recession of the early 1990s.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Russia’s losses in Ukraine are five times higher than its total losses from all Russian and Soviet wars since World War II combined, including the Afghanistan war and two Chechen wars, the report says.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
After stepping through a giant wooden door, tall grass teems with wild Pokémon, adorable critters strike charming poses and battles break out between fierce opponents.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
-
ByteDance’s focus on AI ByteDance also has other battles to fight.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conflicts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conflicts. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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