as in altercation
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
the two friends have been lonely and miserable since they had a falling-out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily
club members were soon falling out about how to spend the money they'd made washing cars
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in proving
to come to be
I had planned to have a sports career, but things fell out otherwise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of falling-out
Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
Greene has had a public falling-out with Trump over the last few months.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 28 Dec. 2025
Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2026
Ville Husso stopped 27 shots for the Ducks (36-27-3), who have now lost three of their last four games and are in peril of falling out of the Pacific Division lead.
—Oc Register, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for falling-out
Noun
Online sleuths noted that Duff and Moore recently unfollowed Tisdale on Instagram, sparking more speculation about reasons for a falling-out, as TMZ reported.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
Greene has had a public falling-out with Trump over the last few months.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 28 Dec. 2025
Verb
The trial, scheduled to begin April 28, will revisit the founding years of OpenAI a decade ago, its falling out with Musk and Microsoft’s subsequent $13 billion investment in the startup.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2026
Ville Husso stopped 27 shots for the Ducks (36-27-3), who have now lost three of their last four games and are in peril of falling out of the Pacific Division lead.
—Oc Register, 14 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for falling-out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falling-out
Noun
-
Deputies responded on the night of March 20 to an address along 6th Avenue following reports of a verbal altercation at a gathering.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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Not for nothing — no one in this altercation is wearing a helmet on their bike!—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ukraine's European allies have promised to maintain their steadfast support, but bickering over a major 90 billion euro ($106 billion) European Union loan to cover Kyiv's military and economic needs for two years has reflected the mounting challenges.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
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Her grandparents are constantly bickering, worn down by the pressures of keeping the family hotel afloat.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Viktor Arvidsson, who assisted on all three regulation goals and is proving to be a fantastic acquisition, beat Greaves on a backhander to cash the two highly improbable points.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Saudi Arabia is also proving its usefulness as a US ally.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Department of Defense’s quarrel with the Anthropic began after the company refused to back down over contractual guardrails around the use of its Claude AI model in autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.—
Devan Cole,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2026
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My quarrel is not with the science of LNG itself.—
Joel McPherson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The underlying facts of the case are still to be ruled on, but the partial ruling on Friday was a big win for immigration advocates who had been fighting to shut down the controversial site.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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The lone Republican was Merritt Farren, a 65-year-old media and technology attorney who lost his home in last year’s Palisades fire, and became an advocate while fighting State Farm’s controversial rate hike request.—
Pat Maio,
Daily News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Crews found a nearby manhole had a ladder coming out of it and wires were exposed.—
Mara H. Gottfried,
Twin Cities,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Between the athletes the hill helped achieve their goals, to the family memories from locals coming out on free ski Sundays, Howelsen is a landing point for Steamboat to anchor against as the march of time rolls on.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
NewJeans, one of the most exciting and innovative recent K-pop groups, has been largely inactive since 2024 due to a baroque legal dispute with the HYBE subsidiary ADOR.—
Mitch Therieau,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2026
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Last month, Boulee directed Fulton County and the Justice Department to mediate the dispute instead of going to court, but that mediation failed, Boulee said, resulting in Friday's hearing.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
According to the judge’s order, Homeland Security is arguing that the legal basis of the deportations stems from a Biden-era agreement in which Mexico agreed to accept up to 30,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians and Venezuelans monthly.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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The manager of a nearby bodega said the victims were arguing with another teen before the shooting erupted.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Falling-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falling-out. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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