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
Han and Li’s student-teacher relationship in particular is diluted and lacks necessary grounding, and there’s little compelling friction between the two masters to make up for it.
—
Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 28 May 2025
There has been friction between the village and Park District over control of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center, which the Park District bought from the state last year for $1 and has plans to redevelop for recreational uses.
—Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2025
More than 277,000 Chinese students studied in the US during the 2023 to 2024 academic year, down from over 372,000 in the peak 2019-2020 year – a decline that coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic but also increasing friction between the two governments.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 23 May 2025
They’ve been separated, there’s been friction among them and with the head coach as well.
—The View From The Lane, New York Times, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for friction
Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 28 May 2025
There has been friction between the village and Park District over control of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center, which the Park District bought from the state last year for $1 and has plans to redevelop for recreational uses.
—Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2025
More than 277,000 Chinese students studied in the US during the 2023 to 2024 academic year, down from over 372,000 in the peak 2019-2020 year – a decline that coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic but also increasing friction between the two governments.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 23 May 2025
They’ve been separated, there’s been friction among them and with the head coach as well.
—The View From The Lane, New York Times, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for friction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for friction
Noun
-
Gone was the discord and rudeness that is often synonymous with the Big Apple.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
25 May 2025
-
Evidently, the discord stemmed from their division of labor.—
Jeremy Helligar,
People.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Even at centers where funds appear to have led to considerable research output, internal strife calls into question the validity of their work.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
-
Arvind and Fashion for Good are holding onto the hope that despite the economic tumult caused by geopolitical strife and exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s whipsawing tariffs, brands remain committed to their climate targets despite the high investment costs and the less tangible payback.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
3 June 2025
Noun
-
Bloody conflicts continued to occur throughout the 20th century.—
Kevin Giraud,
Variety,
7 June 2025
-
Killer of Killers follows three warriors from different periods in history set against different Predator variants, using the tools of their time to take them on before a larger-scale conflict that will merge all the stories.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
Editors’ Picks An editor at Fast Company, a magazine about business, technology and design, was among the first to notice the discordance.—
Adeel Hassan,
New York Times,
4 May 2025
-
Sachs plays on the discordance between his naturalistic approach and the theatricality of the project with meta elements like a quick glimpse of the crew or posed shots of the actors occasionally punctuating the conversation, accompanied by blasts of Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Fighting for working people also means standing up to Donald Trump and his war on the fundamental values of our city.—
Zohran Mamdani,
New York Daily News,
8 June 2025
-
Israel's government said he was seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed early in the war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 June 2025
Noun
-
This is not the first time that there has been a schism among students at Hillel.—
Anemona Hartocollis,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2025
-
The schism had an immediate effect on the Ukrainian army’s U.S.-made High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
An increase in the drone supply—in addition to their effectiveness in combat operations—is reflective of a strategic adaptation by NATO to new forms of warfare that increasingly rely on unmanned systems.—
Shane Croucher
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 June 2025
-
The immediate incentive for our nation to enter that war was the declaration by Germany of unrestricted submarine warfare.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
3 June 2025
Noun
-
One-sided judgments, whether celebrations or condemnations, are met by dissent within the profession.—
James T. Kloppenberg,
Time,
28 May 2025
-
Voter participation, in the eyes of the opposition, legitimizes Maduro’s claim to power and his government’s repressive apparatus, which after the July presidential election detained more than 2,000 people including protesters, poll workers, political activists and minors, to quash dissent.—
Regina Garcia Cano,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Friction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/friction. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share