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

Several dozen people are still believed to be missing after what was one of the deadliest attacks in the region in nearly five years of fighting. — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026

Spain withdrew the following year, but the Polisario Front, founded in 1973 to end Spanish rule, rejected the agreement and continued fighting for independence. — ABC News, 6 Nov. 2026

Union soldiers wreaked havoc with relatively little fighting. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Nov. 2026

Her brother, the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his government have been playing a crucial role in negotiating an end to the fighting. — Ritu Upadhyay, Footwear News, 4 Nov. 2026

The Red Sea Film Festival was canceled last month, along with other cultural and entertainment events, as bombings targeted Saudi sites in an escalation of the fighting. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026

The shelter was built last year in an effort to keep classes going during wartime, but many civilians have since left as the fighting got closer to the village, and it is not currently used as a school. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2026

The situation in the Middle East remains volatile and there's still substantial risk that fighting could break out. — Spencer Kimball,lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026

Wars can overthrow adversarial regimes, but usually only after years of fighting, and fixing the damage afterward takes considerable time and money. — S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2026

Verb

There’s such a funny contrast between the peaceful idea of gardening and the absolute chaos of fighting your friends. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026

The formula helps reduce the risk of damage with a conditioning and strengthening blend of sunflower seed oil, hydrolyzed rice protein, and glycerin, which are also all heroes at fighting color-fading and dryness. — Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 1 Nov. 2026

Sunday’s late afternoon has a fight for first place in the AFC West, and Sunday night has two NFC East teams fighting to save their seasons. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026

And even with the game hopelessly out of reach, the Gators kept fighting, forcing a fourth-quarter fumble that Myles Graham returned 42 yards to help set up UF’s only touchdown. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Oct. 2026

Spouses already made financially vulnerable by years of relocations can be left navigating unfamiliar courts, hiring lawyers in two countries and fighting simply to bring their children home. — Brianna Keilar, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026

United's Michael Carrick, in particular, has been making surprise picks while fighting to keep his job. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 30 Oct. 2026

The discovery raises the possibility of a grim outcome in the search for the four men, which has led to El Salvador deploying 450 special forces soldiers to Haiti as of Friday to aid the gang-fighting force in the search. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026

One nephew had already died fighting in Gaza on the same day of his son’s funeral. — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026