as in discord
a lack of agreement or harmony
there was friction between the two sides of the family
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 friction
That’s been a point of friction between federal authorities and state investigators, who complain that they have been frozen out of those cases so far with no access to evidence.
—
Steve Karnowski, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
By treating screens as extensions of a unified digital environment, TCL aims to reduce friction between devices and make everyday interactions smoother and more natural.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
That caused friction with the Federal Aviation Administration, which wanted to ensure commercial air safety and the two agencies sought to coordinate, according to two of the people.
—Seung Min Kim, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
But Layton locates friction in other places, especially in Ruffalo’s what-else-but grizzled turn as a shaggy, Raymond Chandler-type police detective.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for friction
Steve Karnowski, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
By treating screens as extensions of a unified digital environment, TCL aims to reduce friction between devices and make everyday interactions smoother and more natural.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
That caused friction with the Federal Aviation Administration, which wanted to ensure commercial air safety and the two agencies sought to coordinate, according to two of the people.
—Seung Min Kim, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
But Layton locates friction in other places, especially in Ruffalo’s what-else-but grizzled turn as a shaggy, Raymond Chandler-type police detective.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for friction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for friction
Noun
-
Celebrate with an activity that allows for big release of energies, something athletic or competitive; a sedentary pleasure could lead to discord.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The drafts mention marital discord between Gates and his then-wife Melinda.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Beyond the looming labor strife, the regional sports network (RSN) model has been floundering for many teams.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The film vaguely follows the basic outline of the first half of the novel, heavily streamlining the twisted tale of family strife and generational trauma into a more conventional tragic romance centered squarely on Catherine and Heathcliff.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
His party successfully capitalized on rising nationalism fueled by a deadly border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia last year, economic woes and uncertainty over Thailand’s trade relationship with the United States, and built up a strong local support base.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Units often operate across wider areas than in past conflicts.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Part of that discordance might be the fact that as a genre, rock has historically been difficult to define.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
19 Nov. 2025
-
The sport of off-roading suffers from a fundamental discordance: The desire to get out into nature and the irreparable harm inherent in the process of off-roading.—
Tim Stevens,
ArsTechnica,
25 July 2025
Noun
-
The term of art for this sort of battlefield confusion is fog of war.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
18 Feb. 2026
-
At least 77 people were killed and dozens injured in various attacks, mostly by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, in densely populated areas, according to Sudan Doctors Network, a group that tracks violence through the war.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There are still some trustbusters in the administration, especially at the FTC, which has avoided being pulled into messy lobbyist fights and White House schisms.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The fracturing of the television audience parallels the schisms in America’s political culture, with viewers and voters increasingly sheltering in partisan echo chambers.—
Karrin Vasby Anderson,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The discordancy is so intriguing — like learning that Katharine Graham went to nude encounter sessions at Esalen, or Alan Greenspan was once in a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
17 Nov. 2021
Noun
-
The film delves into the fragility of the human mind, the dangers of AI warfare, and the indomitable spirit required to confront terror in an increasingly digital world.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
-
This is information warfare on the cheap.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Friction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/friction. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
