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
Thomas Bordeaux, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
The campus event continued after the scuffle and ended without further incident.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
This was the year Kansas City lost its magic pixie dust … while ultimately scuffling to a 6-11 finish.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Noun
That agent then walks quickly away from the scuffle.
—Thomas Bordeaux, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026
The campus event continued after the scuffle and ended without further incident.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Verb
The protagonist, McTeague (Gibson Gowland) is a scuffling American naïf, a California miner who, seeking better prospects, learns dentistry from an itinerant practitioner and, without any formal qualifications, starts a practice in San Francisco.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
This was the year Kansas City lost its magic pixie dust … while ultimately scuffling to a 6-11 finish.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffle
Noun
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After a skirmish, Pretti escaped from the officer and went toward the crowd.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Swayman went down to one knee and the referees broke up the skirmish.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The downstairs staffs of the richest and noblest families start to shuffle around so chaotically that even Lady Whistledown takes notice of in her column.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
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The videos showed Chicago kissing and hugging a sable-furred puppy in the family's living room while Psalm shuffled around on his hands and knees trying to chase one of the dark-haired dogs around the room.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Big Tech continues to wrestle with mass layoffs, most recently with Amazon’s announcement to slash 16,000 jobs.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
-
A number of agents jumped out and wrestled him to the ground.—
Jude Joffe-Block,
NPR,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Tempers flared during a recent pair of NBA games, and both contests were marred by tense clashes between players.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
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Having beaten Rybakina from a similar situation in the 2023 title clash, Sabalenka unleashed a flurry of winners to go ahead 3-0, but the Kazakh erased the deficit and broke for 4-3 before securing the victory to add to her 2022 Wimbledon triumph.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The sort of challenge that has caused United to stumble in recent times.—
Graham Ruthven,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Stocks had stumbled there in prior days after MSCI, an influential company in the investment industry that creates stock and other indexes, warned about market risks such as a lack of transparency.—
Stan Choe,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Graham, in particular, has been on a war path over the negotiations, accusing Republicans of not fighting hard enough to reclaim the narrative on immigration after the death of Alex Pretti last weekend.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Jan. 2026
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Defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski said Lemon plans to plead innocent and fight the charges in Minnesota.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In a city where detentions have largely played out on the streets, Homan’s comments have highlighted a battle that has been unfolding in the background.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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The exercise of power, not surprisingly, contributed to the restlessness of a busy mind that waged battles against a committed opposition.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Oscar-winning composer Daniel Blumberg was tasked with layering in claps, stomps and screams.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
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Making matters worse was that Seahawks defensive lineman Derick Hall stomped down on Dotson’s calf after the play, leading to Shelton shoving him in the chest and, ultimately, a one-game suspension for Hall.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffle. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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