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cross fires

noun

plural of cross fire
as in quarrels
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions viewers tune in to witness the weekly cross fire between the liberal and conservative commentators

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cross fires
  1. quarrels
  2. disputes
  3. altercations
  4. disagreements
  5. fights
  6. controversies
  7. arguments
  8. rows
Noun
  • Unlike Christian priests and medicine men, who generally command respect, rainmakers are sometimes seen as malicious people who retaliate against whole communities for quarrels with their neighbors.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
  • On the new series, some House of Stassi castmembers raised their quarrels with Maloney joining their cast.
    — McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of quarrels
Noun
  • Perhaps sport’s more important diplomatic contribution isn’t resolving disputes at all.
    — Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The Johannesburg Crisis Alliance has blamed the disruptions on labor disputes, financial constraints, and an aging fleet.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of disputes
Noun
  • Domestic altercations can quickly spin out of control, making them among the most dangerous types of calls.
    — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Tchouameni and Valverde were involved in two separate altercations, a day apart, in May, with the latter taken to hospital to undergo assessments after sustaining a head injury during the second incident.
    — Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of altercations
Noun
  • Working with Minhaj and Venkataramanujam, both first-time feature writers, meant frequent creative disagreements, Khan says, but never without purpose.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The issue has been especially contentious in Northern Virginia, where disagreements over bathrooms, locker rooms, pronouns and parental notification have prompted clashes between state officials and local school boards.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of disagreements
Noun
  • These feats of inclusion are hard fought, and the Academy likes to award them (even when its membership likely includes people who made those fights hard in the first place).
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Many of the fights being waged here are still being waged today.
    — Lucy Sante, Vanity Fair, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of fights
Noun
  • In recent months, OpenAI has become faster at responding to public controversies.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The vote will occur amid a collection of controversies and arrives at the end of a summer that has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
    — Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of controversies
Noun
  • The slew of events begins with a formal arrival ceremony later on Wednesday, just as a judge is expected to hear arguments in a lawsuit brought by the three news outlets the president banned from the White House last week.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Prosecutors and the defense rested their cases after closing arguments concluded on Thursday.
    — Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of arguments
Noun
  • In each bus, the seats were ripped out and replaced with two rows of bunk beds that sleep up to 42 people a night.
    — Michael Cuglietta, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Facilities grew outward, spreading across vast acreage to house rows of standard x86 servers.
    — Kevin Brown, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of rows
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

cross fire
cross fires
cross-grained
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cross fires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cross%20fires. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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