FACE-OFFS Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

face-offs

noun

plural of face-off

as in rivalries

an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another the annual fall face-off between these traditional rivals is a big event for both football-mad colleges

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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.

Recent Examples of face-offs For national tournaments, the corollary is how poorer countries always have to match up against richer ones for regional face-offs and qualifiers that culminate in the quadrennial dream that is the World Cup. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 The game followed a championship series filled with down-to-the-wire face-offs won by edge-of-your-seat buzzer beaters. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 15 June 2026 The plan is for the star forward to take face-offs again. — Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2026 The film’s centerpieces are the face-offs between Plemons’ Teddy and Stone’s CEO. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026 Turcotte has been an efficient point producer relative to his ice time, boasts strong two-way metrics, and has won nearly 56 percent of his face-offs this year. — Harman Dayal, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026 The film keeps pace through toe-curlingly tense table tennis face-offs, high-stakes hustles, and a jaw-dropping scene involving a bathtub that honestly puts Saltburn to shame. — Anastasia Sanger, Glamour, 22 Dec. 2025 Several of these races have attracted attention beyond their city limits, for interesting face-offs or for their potential to signal where some states and districts could be leaning as next year's midterm elections draw closer. — Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-offs

Noun

Without the big-picture implications, regional rivalries are more personal and emit a different type of energy — both positive and negative.

— Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
The Border War, as it was known until 2004, dates back to 1891 and features the kind of hatred and bad blood that makes college football rivalries hit differently than any other sport.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of rivalries

Noun

In 2019, Mary Max died by suicide two weeks after The New York Times published a story detailing legal battles over his work.

— BETH J. HARPAZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026
Among the highest-profile battles was against USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, who had two catches on three targets for 28 yards when Moore was covering him.

— Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of battles

Noun

In defence, his lack of physicality is becoming more glaring in a Premier League that is leaning more heavily than ever into duels, second balls and set pieces.

— Liam Twomey, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
The noodles, the cheese, the topping, the consistency—duels have been fought over less.

— Josh Miller, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of duels

Noun

There are examples of ticket holders being ejected from games for confrontations with players.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Videos of the confrontations got hundreds of thousands of views on social media, a burst of attention for a conservative youth organization that is charting its next chapter after last year’s fatal shooting of its leader Charlie Kirk.

— Hannah Fingerhut, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of confrontations

Noun

Their lives intersect during the making of a documentary, drawing out desires and struggles each had kept hidden.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Sitting around the fire pit, toes in the sand, the students share stories with me about the cuisine; traditional string instrument sasando, made of bamboo; and their struggles with learning to swim.

— Michelle Jana Chan, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of struggles

Noun

Recent meetings between the two programs have produced some of the district’s most competitive contests.

— Abbygail Granados, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Sep. 2026
The companies were used to provide prize insurance to customers who offered promotions or prizes at events like golf tournaments or fishing contests, officials said.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of contests

Noun

Moments like this are really what Housewives is supposed to be about — a genuine sisterhood with deep ties that take precedence over superfluous conflicts.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
The average company is 109 years old, and more than half have been in business for over a century, surviving global conflicts and adapting through multiple industrial revolutions.

— Sam Birchall, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of conflicts

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face off

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faces

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“Face-offs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-offs. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of face-offs

noun

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