as in rivalries
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
a duel for the title of captain of the team
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Recent Examples of duels
Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
From playoff duels to major championship showdowns, their careers have been intertwined since the late 1990s.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
His six successful duels, seven recoveries and four clearances showed his all-round strength.
—Sam Leveridge, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Crochet and Marlins starter Janson Junk were outstanding, going toe-to-toe in one of the season’s best pitchers’ duels.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
In The Floor, 81 quiz fanatics face off in quiz duels on a giant LED floor divided into 81 equal squares, each representing its own field of knowledge.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
While jousting was too difficult to facilitate indoors, guests can see duels by Crossroads Swords, combat by Mythic Adventures LARP and entertainment from Pirates Dinner Adventure in addition to a harpist, a violinist and a wandering bard.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
The 27-year-old is technical, strong in duels, has a great engine to move up and down the pitch, a good ball progresser and reader of the game.
—Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
From playoff duels to major championship showdowns, their careers have been intertwined since the late 1990s.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
His six successful duels, seven recoveries and four clearances showed his all-round strength.
—Sam Leveridge, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Crochet and Marlins starter Janson Junk were outstanding, going toe-to-toe in one of the season’s best pitchers’ duels.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
In The Floor, 81 quiz fanatics face off in quiz duels on a giant LED floor divided into 81 equal squares, each representing its own field of knowledge.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
While jousting was too difficult to facilitate indoors, guests can see duels by Crossroads Swords, combat by Mythic Adventures LARP and entertainment from Pirates Dinner Adventure in addition to a harpist, a violinist and a wandering bard.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for duels
Noun
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Still one of the NFL’s nastiest division rivalries, the game was full of skirmishes and a near-costly unnecessary roughness penalty late in the third against the Eagles that put the Cowboys in position to take the lead.—
Dan Gelston,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Premiering in 2011, the edgy comedy follows Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) as her life unravels while serving as maid of honor for her best friend Lillian Donovan (Maya Rudolph), leading to a string of wedding planning mishaps and bridal party rivalries.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Many of the amendments are likely to spark infighting among Republicans as the party battles over whether to become more isolationist in the face of skepticism about assisting foreign countries.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Sep. 2025
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Bateman's character, Vince Friedken, battles a gambling addiction in a trailer for the crime thriller, as Law's Jake Friedken celebrates the growing success of his buzzy establishment.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Two men shot by Denver police – one who was killed and one seriously injured – in separate confrontations in late August were wielding fake guns, Denver Police Department officials said Thursday.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
5 Sep. 2025
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Cow attacks previously prompted by dogs Dangerous and occasionally fatal confrontations with cows are a common occurence during mountain hikes in Austria often prompted by dog, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Under a new deal with CBS and Paramount+, UFC fights will be available for all subscribers.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Days later, then-Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley announced a campaign challenging the former governor as the GOP fights to keep the Senate seat red.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The story is different in the three UEFA competitions, and nine English clubs had to consider their approach with continental rules in mind, too.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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The piracy network showed unauthorized streams of NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL games, as well as soccer matches from England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and other European leagues, plus games from Major League Soccer, UEFA competitions, and qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup.—
Scharon Harding,
ArsTechnica,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Lately Rigel has seen big sales increases for a few of its drugs, notably Tavelisse, which combats a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks its own blood platelets.—
John Dorfman,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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Ant International claims the platform combats hallucinations and other data risks by using over 100 recognition models and 600,000 risk lexicons.—
Lionel Lim,
Fortune,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Before welcoming William, the couple endured a six-year-long road to parenthood that included health issues for each of them in addition to their fertility struggles.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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Fall in Michigan means less and less daylight as the season goes on and for many that signals the start of seasonal mental health struggles, though coping strategies can help, experts say.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The president has been deeply involved in major political contests in the battleground state in recent years, including the last Wisconsin gubernatorial election in 2022.—
Lawrence Andrea,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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The Padres, now three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, have dropped eight of their last 10 contests amid their worst stretch of the season.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Duels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/duels. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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