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
  • The overtones of social significance are adroitly handled and make real sense in an era of tragic international quarrels.
    — THR Staff, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of quarrels
Noun
  • Other disputes are minor, like the three animal rights activists who stole lambs from King Charles’ Sandringham estate.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 3 Oct. 2026
  • In the last year alone, the federal government partially shut down twice for weeks because of partisan disputes in Congress over spending on healthcare and immigration enforcement.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of disputes
Noun
  • Images showed altercations between police and protesters, with officers using batons to strike demonstrators, who threw barriers.
    — Joseph Wilson, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The election is taking place amid heightened political tensions in Serbia, with reports of incidents and physical altercations at campaign events.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of altercations
Noun
  • The agreement’s broad promises — a new Palestinian administration, an international security force, Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawal — have stalled amid deepening disagreements.
    — Joseph Krauss, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Gowanus Green, as shown in this rendering, is planned to be 100 percent affordable, but construction stalled due to disagreements over cleanup standards.
    — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of disagreements
Noun
  • Two of Iowa’s four Republican House members, both in their own worrying reelection fights, had just broken with the president to vote to stop the war with Iran.
    — Natalie Allison, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The company stages live fights where people remotely control humanoid robots against other humanoid robots.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of fights
Noun
  • The question also raised the recent spread of controversies over individual films into attacks on cast and crew and campaigns to halt screenings.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Fox and its founder, Rupert Murdoch, have faced controversies, scandals and litigation before.
    — David Folkenflik, NPR, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of controversies
Noun
  • The new Type 01—revealed today in New York—will be judged by the same standards, with the arguments already begun and the marque, again, putting its future on the line.
    — Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Those decisions have been handed down after months of consideration, including oral arguments.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of arguments
Noun
  • The Italian fashion house was a sponsor of this year’s Albies, and host Amal Clooney wore a shimmering gold gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline, rows of sequins and long beaded fringe.
    — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The seat The business class cabin is low-lit in blues and purples—a nice touch for the impending red eye—and the 30 seats are arranged in 7 rows of 1-2-1 configuration.
    — Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 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
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Cite this Entry

“Cross fires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cross%20fires. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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