FIGHTS Synonyms: 242 Similar and Opposite Words

fights 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of fight

as in battles

to oppose (someone) in physical conflict a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland

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as in opposes

to strive to reduce or eliminate a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice

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as in competes

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

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as in bickers

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!

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as in resists

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

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fights

2 of 2

noun

plural of fight

as in skirmishes

a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups a troubled youth who got into one fight after another

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truces

as in struggles

a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective the mayoral candidate pledged to lead a successful fight to improve the city's schools

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as in altercations

an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions the couple have their share of fights, but they quickly get over them

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Example Sentences

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 fights

Verb

The comments come as the administration faces several overlapping court fights over its election policies. — Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026 Unfortunately, in the real world, bad behavior erupts at high school games — fights and even worse. — Jerald McNair, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026 For months, fights over the map threw the state, its election officials and voters into uncertainty. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2026 Testosterone levels ramp up, aggression elevates, and fights break out. — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026 The 24-year-old, who goes by Wavy MMA on social media and fights out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand, has one professional fight under his belt. — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026 The merch quickly gained traction on social media as the 38-year-old congresswoman fights to hold her battleground seat for a third term. — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 8 Sep. 2026 This face serum brightens and evens skin tone, fights free radicals, supports collagen production and softens the look of fine lines and wrinkles for glowing, healthy-looking skin. — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026 Multiple fights over congressional maps have been brought to the Supreme Court in the past year. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026

Noun

Some of his worst fights happened with Justin Burnell, a manager who eventually became a partner at Drastic Measures, according to multiple employees. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026 The Ultimate Fighting Championship built up its early lore with tournaments in which all the fights happened on the same night. — Oskar Garcia, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Exactly how those fights play out could be an important factor in the extent of any potential AI intervention from Congress next year. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026 The fights will take all shapes from MMA to boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu, muay Thai and karate. — Peter White, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026 But the five-term senator has overcome difficult reelection fights in the past, and Democrats' chaotic primary process could complicate the picture. — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026 His signature project, a White House ballroom and underground bunker, continues as legal fights play out. — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 Bloomberg via Getty Images; Getty Images Several battlegrounds have begun to tilt toward Democrats, and real fights are emerging in red states as control of the Senate wanes. — Kaylah Jackson, NBC news, 8 Sep. 2026 That gave us the opportunity to really use him for a great deal of the fights. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fights

Verb

Harald’s death comes as Charles battles an undisclosed type of cancer.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 10 Sep. 2026
Pitt stars as a former Special Forces officer who battles the elements with his combat dog, named Odin.

— Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of battles

Verb

Ferguson, who was much more forceful than Anijar and was the crowd favorite, opposes Amendment 3 as a threat to public safety.

— Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
Mercury opposes Saturn, challenging assumptions about a plan, belief, trip, course of study, or future direction.

— Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of opposes

Verb

The system is also intended to address situations where infrastructure competes with places that have historical, architectural or tourism value.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Amongst the crowd was Lee Brockhouse, 48, who also competes in amateur strongman events with a personal best of 455kg in the deadlift.

— Rob Tanner, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of competes

Noun

Oasis’s Live ’25 was one of the biggest tours of the decade, marking the band’s first performances in 15 years after brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher’s intense skirmishes led to the band breaking up in 2009.

— Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
Asgari highlights these minor skirmishes through life itself (whether at its most verbose, or in complete silence) via minor aesthetic transformations which play in major keys, and prove deeply moving.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of skirmishes

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

Tchouameni and Valverde were involved in two separate altercations, a day apart, in May, with the latter taken to hospital to undergo assessments after sustaining a head injury during the second incident.

— Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
After marching from Crocker Park in downtown Sacramento, the protest groups engaged in verbal and physical altercations across a barricade formed by law enforcement officers.

— Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026