Synonyms of knock-down, drag-out

knock-down, drag-out

adjective

ˈnäk-ˌdauṅ-ˈdrag-ˌau̇t 

variants or knock-down-and-drag-out

as in violent

marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity

the football game was a knock-down, drag-out battle between bitter rivals

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violent
• fierce
• ferocious
• furious
• turbulent
• rough
• volcanic
• rabid
• explosive
• vicious
• hot
• hammer-and-tongs
• brutal
• cyclonic
• convulsive
• tumultuous
• paroxysmal
• stormy
• bang-bang
• tempestuous
• aggressive
• volatile
• savage
• blood-and-guts
• hostile
• contentious
• destructive
• antagonistic
• mad
• combative
• barbarous
• frantic
• belligerent
• pugnacious
• assertive
• combustible
• quarrelsome
• truculent
• agitated
• frenzied
• bellicose
• ruinous
• cataclysmal
• gladiatorial

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• peaceful
• nonviolent
• peaceable
• calm
• serene
• tranquil
• pacific
• halcyon
• nonbelligerent
• unaggressive

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of knock-down, drag-out

But its industry titans are also locked in a knock-down, drag-out fight for market share, with brutal price wars and competition in a crowded home market deflating profits and stymieing growth. — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 2 May 2026

That means the knock-down, drag-out government shutdown battles that have become a Washington ritual are, in effect, a fight over a little more than a quarter of the federal ledger. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026

The meeting of a pair of programs on the rise was a knock-down, drag-out affair that appeared to have no end in sight. — Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2025

What follows is a knock-down, drag-out brawl reminiscent of Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler. — Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2024

This was a knock-down, drag-out fight — the kind of match that would make for excellent watching when Marvel Snap tournaments are up and running. — Ash Parrish, The Verge, 31 Jan. 2023

Last week’s knock-down, drag-out fight could just be the first of many this session as GOP lawmakers grapple with government spending, the debt ceiling and the situation at the border. — Dallas News, 10 Jan. 2023

As much as the streaming wars can feel like a knock-down, drag-out fight, Amazon can spend time on the ropes because streaming isn’t its core business. — Angela Watercutter, Wired, 18 Mar. 2022

But rather than a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish, this series is all about empowerment. — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 17 Feb. 2022