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

When demand falls, bond yields rise A pause in large-scale fighting in the Middle East softened upward pressure on oil costs, and favorable government data on prices lowered inflation expectations. — Max Zahn, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026

Federal agents seized 61 guns, quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, $98,000 in cash and 166 fighting dogs during the operation, according to the FBI. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026

In fact, crude prices have declined since spiking last month when the ceasefire ended and fighting flared up again. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026

Mediators should encourage them to focus on underlying interests, widen the agenda to create tradeoffs, and seek an interim framework to halt the fighting. — Matt Waldman, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2026

Corlys begins the season fighting for Rhaenyra’s cause, and ends the season as a prisoner of that same cause. — Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026

In Brazil, where fighting crime is a top priority for citizens, facial-recognition technology is exploding, even though the legislature is still working on laying out clear rules. — Constance Malleret, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Aug. 2026

At its center is the disappearance of a fourteen-year-old boy, a child born after the fighting had already ended. — Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026

But when the fighting stops, McIntyre wants Logan’s story to stay with the player. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026

Verb

There’s fighting in the streets, along the ramparts, hot oil poured on men climbing ladders. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Numerous other suburban Chicago fire departments assisted in fighting the blaze. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026

An Elk Grove mother is fighting to change how California treats fatal car crashes after her son Connor Lopez, 23, was killed when a driver turned left in front of his motorcycle in April 2025. — Ruyuan Li. Story Produced With Ai Assistance, Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2026

The helicopter was actively fighting the Widemouth 2 Fire, said Tyler Hecht of the Great Basin Incident Management Team 2. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026

While fighting between the sides has paused for now, a number of other issues remain unresolved — not least Iran’s nuclear program — and there hasn’t been an agreement to start formal negotiations. — Bloomberg, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026

Last week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete and a third was killed in the Peloponnese. — Elena Becatoros, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Cyclosporiasis isn't typically fatal, and people's bodies seem to get better at fighting it off in places where the parasite is more common, including tropical and subtropical regions. — Pien Huang, NPR, 2 Aug. 2026

Earlier this week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete, while a third was killed on the Peloponnese. — ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026