Synonyms of fighting

fighting 1 of 3

adjective

as in battling

Related Words

• battling
• warring
• savage
• cross
• vicious
• testy
• ugly
• hostile
• irritable
• disagreeable
• ornery
• peevish
• fretful
• petulant
• dyspeptic
• bilious
• fractious
• acidic
• antagonistic
• irascible
• grumpy
• surly
• bristly
• touchy
• querulous
• waspish
• choleric
• snappish
• grouchy
• pettish
• combative
• bearish
• crabby
• huffy
• cranky
• belligerent
• stroppy
• warlike
• confrontational
• aggressive
• ill-tempered
• militant
• prickly
• fierce
• gladiatorial
• assaultive
• feisty
• pugnacious
• bellicose
• quarrelsome
• ill-natured
• ill-humored
• agonistic
• snappy
• contentious
• argumentative
• hot-tempered
• scrappy
• rude
• chippy
• discordant
• brawly
• disputatious
• truculent

Dissimilar Words

• peaceful
• peaceable
• pacific
• nonaggressive
• uncombative
• friendly
• pleasant
• benevolent
• conciliatory
• nonbelligerent
• unwarlike
• quiet
• calm
• cordial
• gracious
• good-natured
• amiable
• unbelligerent
• ingratiating
• amicable
• sociable
• genial
• complaisant
• obliging
• easygoing
• uncontentious
• antimilitarist
• affable
• mild
• kindhearted
• relaxed
• tranquil
• serene
• gentle
• anti-imperialist
• benign
• kindly
• good-tempered

fighting

2 of 3

noun

as in combat

Related Words

• combat
• warfare
• battle
• skirmish
• engagement
• action
• civil war
• war
• world war
• cold war
• police action
• hostilities
• conflict
• holy war
• limited war
• conflagration
• hot war

Dissimilar Words

• peace
• disarmament
• demobilization
• demilitarization
• pacification
• truce
• calm
• tranquility
• peacefulness
• ceasefire

fighting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of fight

1

as in combating

to oppose (someone) in physical conflict

a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland

Synonyms & Similar Words

• battling
• combating
• beating
• dueling
• clashing (with)
• skirmishing (with)
• wrestling
• warring (against)
• hitting
• punching
• knocking
• slapping
• boxing
• jousting
• scrimmaging (with)
• striking
• pounding
• battering
• sparring
• slugging
• smacking
• banging
• hammering
• slamming
• brawling
• whacking
• thumping
• bashing
• smiting
• swatting
• buffeting
• grappling
• slogging
• swiping
• batting
• pasting
• bumping
• whaling
• belting
• scuffling
• clobbering
• bopping
• socking
• colliding
• tussling
• thwacking
• bludgeoning
• walloping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• submitting
• giving up
• surrendering

2

as in opposing

to strive to reduce or eliminate

a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice

Synonyms & Similar Words

• opposing
• combating
• battling
• countering
• resisting
• confronting
• contending (with)
• withstanding
• oppugning
• thwarting
• facing
• frustrating
• foiling
• checkmating
• baffling
• defying
• meeting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• promoting
• advancing
• encouraging
• fostering
• cultivating
• suffering
• furthering
• forwarding
• supporting
• bearing
• enduring
• nurturing
• advocating
• abiding
• nourishing
• upholding
• backing
• endorsing
• championing

3

as in competing

to engage in a contest

everyone on that street seems to be fighting to see who can create the gaudiest holiday lighting display

Synonyms & Similar Words

• competing
• contending
• battling
• racing
• vying
• rivaling
• playing
• facing off
• challenging
• maneuvering
• engaging
• jostling
• jockeying
• working
• trying out
• going out
• training

4

as in bickering

to express different opinions about something often angrily

if you kids continue to fight, I'm turning this car around and we're heading back home!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bickering
• arguing
• quarreling
• clashing
• brawling
• wrangling
• squabbling
• disputing
• debating
• scrapping
• discussing
• rowing
• controverting
• hassling
• quibbling
• spatting
• falling out
• altercating
• jarring
• tiffing
• argufying
• brabbling
• contesting
• mixing it up
• locking horns
• contending
• butting heads
• bandying words
• protesting
• tangling
• challenging
• daring
• kicking
• defying
• objecting
• fussing
• nitpicking
• considering
• caviling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• coexisting
• getting along
• accepting
• agreeing
• consenting
• concurring
• assenting

5

as in resisting

to refuse to give in to

I tried to fight the temptation to eat another cookie—and lost

Synonyms & Similar Words

• resisting
• opposing
• withstanding
• repelling
• combating
• bucking
• defying
• battling
• contesting
• thwarting
• countering
• contending (with)
• stemming
• contradicting
• challenging
• hindering
• disputing
• obstructing
• checking
• frustrating
• balking
• foiling
• baffling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• submitting (to)
• yielding (to)
• bowing (to)
• surrendering (to)
• succumbing (to)
• stooping (to)
• giving in (to)
• capitulating (to)
• knuckling under (to)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fighting

Adjective

After having two children and settling into post-fighting life on her farm in Riverside, Rousey seriously began to consider an MMA return last year. — CBS News, 17 May 2026

Speaking ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Johnson told the BBC that the troops should be sent to peaceful regions in non-fighting roles. — ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026

But this story isn’t just for pro-fighting fans. — Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer, 26 Oct. 2025

Some had joined Ukrainian combat units as volunteers, while others have sought to assist the Ukrainian people in non-fighting capacities. — Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023

But the computer model couldn’t distinguish fighting roosters from non-fighting roosters. — Jeff Horwitz, WSJ, 17 Oct. 2021

Noun

An uneasy calm prevailed along the border Friday, with no new fighting reported. — Munir Ahmed, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026

Yemen’s healthcare was in trouble before the fighting Even before the escalation, hospitals in Yemen relied on limited government support and citizen donations. — Fatma Khaled, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Americans are sick and tired of the bickering and fighting between Democrats and Republicans. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 24 Sep. 2026

In a month of intense fighting that saw the Houthis' biggest land grab in years, factions of the anti-Houthi coalition lost their hold of Mokha, a strategic city on the Red Sea, and islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait further south. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026

Forrest also hopes to raise $500 million to help rebuild the country once active fighting stops, still a sliver of the $577 billion the World Bank estimates will be needed. — Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026

An escalation of fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, which has become a very real risk since the Houthis launched attacks on the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Yanbu last week, would add to the upward pressure on prices. — Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026

Now, how can SaaS companies go about feeding their resident alligators to keep them in fighting shape? — Srinivas Velamoor, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Verb

The two men began fighting and both pulled out handguns and opened fire, police said. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Sep. 2026

Wicky said his halftime message was to be brave and keep fighting. — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2026

Argentine ants have been fighting a global war for decades — and the logic looks uncannily human. — Mark W. Moffett, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2026

The alert marked the first time Riyadh had received such a warning since fighting in Yemen intensified in July. — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2026

Lawrence has spent plenty of time with students on Michigan State's sprawling campus, but he's also become a staple at meetings of residents — often farmers or other rural denizens — fighting data center proposals. — ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026

Nick Reiner is still fighting to get access to his family trust from behind bars. — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026

The 32-year-old Honduran admitted to fighting to try to keep his composure. — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 19 Sep. 2026

The report shows exactly what the state is fighting to protect. — Skyler Swisher, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026