1
as in battles
to oppose (someone) in physical conflict
a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opposes
to strive to reduce or eliminate
a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
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!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in resists
to refuse to give in to
I tried to fight the temptation to eat another cookie—and lost
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in skirmishes
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
a troubled youth who got into one fight after another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fights
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025
As the immune system fights the infection, the tissues in the urinary tract become inflamed.
—Mark Gurarie, Health, 13 Sep. 2025
The matter is of vital importance to both Republicans and Democrats ahead of the 2026 elections, as the GOP fights to hold on to and expand its narrow majority in the House.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Speedrunners have also found some arcane sequence skips to get around certain bosses or methods for putting off some boss fights until later than the developers intended.
—ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
Andrew Garbarino has represented New York's 2nd Congressional District in Congress since 2021, and fights every day for the hardworking people of Long Island.
—Andrew Garbarino, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Bluesky, part of the decentralized internet, is slower paced and caters to niche interests, rewarding internecine fights over minutiae, whereas X is deliberately chaotic, encouraging the gathering of follower-armies and ideological insult-comedy for an audience that may be largely made up of bots.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
Under a new deal with CBS and Paramount+, UFC fights will be available for all subscribers.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Even ordinary encounters are sharper and more aggressive, while boss fights push you to your breaking point.
—Keller Gordon, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
Kai Liekefett, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The 6-foot-6 defenseman decisively won his fights.
—Eric Stephens, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
While on the scene, officers broke up several fights among juveniles.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
For your fights, your moments of glory, your grit.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
While all of his children enjoy supporting him at his fights, María is the one who gets the most anxious, according to Canelo.
—Nasha Smith, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025
But Republicans’ long-running internal fights over how to handle health insurance coverage are far from settled, and party leaders are not eager to take a firm stance.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Trump has attended several other high-profile sporting events in 2025, including Super Bowl LIX, the Daytona 500, and multiple UFC fights.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
The mixed martial arts pioneer is well-known for his impressive and dominant exploits during brutal professional fights.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
As always, secrets emerge, fights ensue, and Madea makes a speech to bring everyone back together.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025
As the immune system fights the infection, the tissues in the urinary tract become inflamed.
—Mark Gurarie, Health, 13 Sep. 2025
The matter is of vital importance to both Republicans and Democrats ahead of the 2026 elections, as the GOP fights to hold on to and expand its narrow majority in the House.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Speedrunners have also found some arcane sequence skips to get around certain bosses or methods for putting off some boss fights until later than the developers intended.
—ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
Andrew Garbarino has represented New York's 2nd Congressional District in Congress since 2021, and fights every day for the hardworking people of Long Island.
—Andrew Garbarino, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Bluesky, part of the decentralized internet, is slower paced and caters to niche interests, rewarding internecine fights over minutiae, whereas X is deliberately chaotic, encouraging the gathering of follower-armies and ideological insult-comedy for an audience that may be largely made up of bots.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
Under a new deal with CBS and Paramount+, UFC fights will be available for all subscribers.
—Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Even ordinary encounters are sharper and more aggressive, while boss fights push you to your breaking point.
—Keller Gordon, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
Whereas large investors once uniformly supported settlements to avoid costly fights, some now argue that quick capitulations undermine shareholder democracy and give too much power to activists.
—Kai Liekefett, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The 6-foot-6 defenseman decisively won his fights.
—Eric Stephens, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
While on the scene, officers broke up several fights among juveniles.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
For your fights, your moments of glory, your grit.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
While all of his children enjoy supporting him at his fights, María is the one who gets the most anxious, according to Canelo.
—Nasha Smith, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025
But Republicans’ long-running internal fights over how to handle health insurance coverage are far from settled, and party leaders are not eager to take a firm stance.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Trump has attended several other high-profile sporting events in 2025, including Super Bowl LIX, the Daytona 500, and multiple UFC fights.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
The mixed martial arts pioneer is well-known for his impressive and dominant exploits during brutal professional fights.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fights
Verb
-
Milioti played Sofia Falcone, scion-ette of the Falcone crime family, who battles Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) for control of Gotham.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
-
In the footage, Geralt approaches the domain of a wraith and battles the skeletal specter, culminating in a heart-ripping moment.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the move.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The chief of staff opposes military rule in Gaza and believes Israel should look ahead to the day after and draw a political solution accordingly.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Google, whose Gemini chatbot competes with ChatGPT, has been slower to sign such deals.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Bill Belichick camped the team at Palm Beach Atlantic University, a private Christian school that competes at the Division II level.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In that spirit, the exhibition resists the expectation that women and non-binary artists must define themselves in contrast to a male norm.—
Caterina De Biasio,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
-
On the durability side, the Air features Ceramic Shield 2 coating, which Apple claims resists scratches and accidental drops better than before.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Still one of the NFL’s nastiest division rivalries, the game was full of skirmishes and a near-costly unnecessary roughness penalty late in the third against the Eagles that put the Cowboys in position to take the lead.—
Dan Gelston,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Ideological skirmishes over the motives and obligations of Carpenter’s music include both sincere interrogation of its feminism and smirking counteractive reprisals to that scrutiny.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Girls in particular report drops in confidence, disrupted sleep, and heavier struggles with mental health.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Production shutdowns, layoffs BrightDrop's struggles come less than a year after GM folded the commercial vans into its Chevrolet brand in a bid to boost its performance as GM tries to gain ground against competitors, including Ford and Rivian, in the electric van space.—
Jackie Charniga,
Freep.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The omission was wrong — whether or not it was related to those altercations — as was the employee’s failure to understand that this is not a business occasion.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Following the altercations, Outside spoke with a dog behavioral expert for insight into what triggers our trail comrades and how best to respond during stressful situations.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Lately Rigel has seen big sales increases for a few of its drugs, notably Tavelisse, which combats a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks its own blood platelets.—
John Dorfman,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Ant International claims the platform combats hallucinations and other data risks by using over 100 recognition models and 600,000 risk lexicons.—
Lionel Lim,
Fortune,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fights.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fights. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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