as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
several chairs were knocked over in the scuffle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
she scuffled along in shoes that were much too large for her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to wrestle
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery
the burglar and the homeowner briefly scuffled together in the dark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scuffle
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
As that scuffle makes its way through the legal system, Anthropic is only getting more popular.
—Kate Rooney, CNBC, 6 May 2026
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
That pretty much tells the whole story right there, and with the offense scuffling out of the gate the club hasn’t been able to fight back whenever the starter gets chased early.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Noun
During the scuffle, the victim’s gold chain was yanked from his neck.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
As that scuffle makes its way through the legal system, Anthropic is only getting more popular.
—Kate Rooney, CNBC, 6 May 2026
Verb
The return of Soto should help the Mets’ scuffling offense.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
That pretty much tells the whole story right there, and with the offense scuffling out of the gate the club hasn’t been able to fight back whenever the starter gets chased early.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffle
Noun
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Forbes was taken down by then-Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay in the skirmish.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
-
Here are some photos from the second of three skirmishes in this always entertaining Show Me State clash.—
Jeff Rosen,
Kansas City Star,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Women in America’s boardrooms made strides as corporations shuffled their mostly White and male lineups in the face of the historic pushback in 2020.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
-
Tall soldiers in bearskin caps shuffled a few inches to the left, or right, to give the parade its proper visual proportions.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Jelly Roll has wrestled a couple of times recently.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 May 2026
-
Stock market bulls wrestled back control last week after a brief respite, putting the S & P 500 back on the cusp of another record high.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
Resistance to rules for safe burials of Ebola victims leads to clashes with health teams.—
Justin Kabumba,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2026
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Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
23 May 2026
Verb
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In contrast, André Burakovsky and Artyom Levshunov stumbled through forgettable seasons.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
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Teenage girls, battered in the storm after Joplin High School’s graduation, stumble and limp toward the hospital in pretty summer dresses soaked in blood.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
Verb
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The city’s directors have apparently decided that if crowns are going to be fought over, audiences might as well sweat a little, too.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
22 May 2026
-
Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford, who fought against mandatory ICE cooperation legislation this spring, is now preparing to voluntarily sign a 287(g) agreement for the warrant service officer program with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.—
Chadd Cripe. Produced with AI assistance,
Idaho Statesman,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
Decades-long legal battle The Supreme Court decision to overturn Glossip’s conviction and death sentence last year marked a major turning point in his decades-long legal battle.—
Linh Tran,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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But the frenzied redistricting battle of the past few months — including a congressional map in his home state thrown out by a court after people voted to approve it, and certain elections postponed in Louisiana and Alabama after mail ballots already went out — has done it.—
Miles Parks,
NPR,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Grgich stomped grapes at age 3.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
15 May 2026
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International researchers have officially identified Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, a massive dinosaur that has stomped its way into the record books as the largest ever found in Southeast Asia.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffle. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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