1
as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
the police broke up the fracas in the bar and threw both combatants in the lockup
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2
as in brawl
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
police preparing for any fracas that might follow the soccer game
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fracas
Following an intense midgame fracas with the Detroit Pistons on Monday, two critical Timberwolves contributors will serve out their single-game suspensions against Denver.
—
Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
There have been intense moments, big games, and even a fracas.
—Tony East, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
When adults who spotted the fracas intervened to break up the fight, a 37-year-old man was slashed in the lower back.
—Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2025
He got involved in a subway fracas that left a bad cop dead amid hints of police corruption.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fracas
Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
There have been intense moments, big games, and even a fracas.
—Tony East, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
When adults who spotted the fracas intervened to break up the fight, a 37-year-old man was slashed in the lower back.
—Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2025
He got involved in a subway fracas that left a bad cop dead amid hints of police corruption.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fracas
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fracas
Noun
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Past skirmishes with Pakistan had allowed Modi to construct a triumphalist narrative of strength that played to his domestic audience.—
Vaibhav Vats,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2025
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Fever star Caitlin Clark and Reese got into a skirmish during the game, which sparked boos from the home crowd.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Noun
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In that time frame, several youths suffered drug overdoses, a teen was stabbed in the eye and 30 probation officers were indicted for allegedly organizing or allowing brawls between youths.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2025
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Following the brawl, which occurred in the Galveston, Texas, cruise terminal, several people were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
12 May 2025
Noun
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Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest and ensuing indictment has escalated a clash between President Donald Trump’s administration and local authorities over the Republican’s sweeping immigration crackdown.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
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Dugan's arrest has escalated a clash between the Trump administration and Democrats over the Republican president's sweeping immigration crackdown.—
Dan Gooding
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
Noun
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The jury also saw photos of injuries Ventura sustained from an altercation in December 2011 and photos of her with a black eye mostly concealed by sunglasses in Jamaica in 2013 or 2014.—
Nicki Brown,
CNN Money,
15 May 2025
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In 2012 he was involved in a brawl with Drake and his entourage at a N.Y. nightclub that injured eight people, followed by an altercation with Frank Ocean over a parking space in West Hollywood in 2013.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
15 May 2025
Noun
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As a 60-person battle royale, matches can be extremely long and, in tournament play, repeat over and over for hours until a winning team can be crowned.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
20 May 2025
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Players are not exactly having a wild time battle royale-ing here, in other words.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Noun
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The awards ceremony reception was being held outdoors when the fight between two adults led to the stabbing, a Fort Worth ISD spokesperson said in a statement.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 May 2025
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Even when cases of public console hacking have led to protracted legal fights—such as George Hotz's saga with the PS3 or Team Xecuter's Switch jailbreaks—console makers don't seem to have used technical means to completely disable offline functions for specific consoles.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2025
Noun
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The position dustups have also exposed Devers’ first instinct to be inwardly focused.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2025
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The public relations dustups at Nike, Coke and many others are symptoms of a much bigger problem—when brands lose their way and need to recapture the spotlight, stress sets in and mistakes are made.—
Greg Petro,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fracas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fracas. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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