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
Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Robinson then grabbed Daniels around the neck and walked him several feet until a brief scuffle ensued between the two teams.
—Devon Henderson, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
The Cubs need more consistency from their lineup, which has scuffled through their first nine games.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Noun
Tens of thousands of people joined marches across the country, including in Paris, where brief scuffles with police broke out.
—Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Robinson then grabbed Daniels around the neck and walked him several feet until a brief scuffle ensued between the two teams.
—Devon Henderson, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Verb
Mackenzie Blackwood started the year 13-1-1, but has scuffled at times in the second half of the season.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
The Cubs need more consistency from their lineup, which has scuffled through their first nine games.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffle
Noun
-
The May 9 event was shaken the day before by a political skirmish that, for the first time, spilled into the proceedings.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
10 May 2026
-
Reigns tried to avoid it during their skirmish on Monday.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Fortunately the wig has had a second outing with Fouracres donning it again in Episode 7, when his parody Attenborough turned up to wrestle a discontented rhino during Weekend Update.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
15 May 2026
-
The renowned Federalist Papers of the late 1780s, 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, wrestled with this exact debate.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
But Giants-Rams might have the greatest blowout potential of these 17 Monday night clashes.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 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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In other words, voters didn’t accidentally stumble into supporting term limits.—
Jovani Patterson,
Baltimore Sun,
16 May 2026
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The Bucs gave up nearly 26 points per game in the final two months of the season while stumbling to a 2-7 finish.—
John Romano,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 May 2026
Verb
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The Steelers will likely win around 10 games and once again be fighting into the final weeks of the season for a playoff berth.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The Warsh view A concern with Miran's approach is that, if the Fed keeps looking through supply shocks, markets and the public will doubt its inflation-fighting credibility.—
Matt Peterson,Steve Liesman,
CNBC,
15 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
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We’re treated to a surreal sequence wherein Cassie transforms into the 50-Foot Woman, stomping all over Downtown Los Angeles like a monster movie, which all seems like a pretext for a scene where Sweeney’s giant boobs burst through the windows of a building.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
11 May 2026
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Rollins repeatedly stomped Breakker in the face and lined up for The Stomp, but Breakker countered, grabbed Rollins’ foot and hit a military press into a gutbuster.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffle. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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