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
Kate Van Dyke, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
The pair—who were both heavily intoxicated, the auction house says—wound up in a scuffle in which Lennon lost his glasses.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 13 Oct. 2025
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
The two men exchanged words, then began to scuffle; according to Davis, Carr grabbed him by the neck and threw the first punch.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Noun
There wasn’t a single scuffle for a lounge chair during my stay.
—Kate Van Dyke, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025
The pair—who were both heavily intoxicated, the auction house says—wound up in a scuffle in which Lennon lost his glasses.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
With the Red Sox offense scuffling lately, has the club considered calling up Kristian Campbell to try and create a spark?
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
The two men exchanged words, then began to scuffle; according to Davis, Carr grabbed him by the neck and threw the first punch.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffle
Noun
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David Wolf, the executive director of the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Scottsbluff, said experts estimate that as many 10 people died for every mile of the trail ‒ perhaps as many as 20,000 travelers, plus an unknown number of Native Americans killed during skirmishes.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
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The skirmish brought players from both teams out of the dugouts and out of the bullpens.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In September, Spotify added the ability to free users search for and play specific songs, rather than being forced to head directly to shuffled playlists or albums, though users were limited to one song at a time before the app started to shuffle.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
8 Nov. 2025
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The Royals shuffled their hitting department after the 2025 season concluded.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Helga once wrestled down a drunk fisherman in the Café, a man of above-average size, and then threw him out like a piece of rubbish; Jens thus transfers most of his weight automatically to her; who is this kid, by the way?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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Season one reportedly will be centered around DC bad guy Gorilla Grodd, who often wrestles The Flash.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Much of this strife, including throughout the 1967-1970 civil war and subsequent clashes over the decades, has also been closely tied to feuds across ethnic and territorial lines.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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Pfizer and Novo Nordisk are in a takeover clash over the obesity biotech Metsera, with both pharmaceutical giants raising their bids for the startup as of Monday.—
Annika Kim Constantino,Bertha Coombs,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Although the discovery has only now been formally studied, cavers from the Czech Speleological Society first stumbled upon the phenomenon in 2022 during an expedition in Vromoner Canyon.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Uber reported strong growth in its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, but stumbled on the bottom line after absorbing a $479 million charge for what the company described as undisclosed legal and regulatory matters.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Barton gave the jury the impression of a man prepared to go into daily combat on numerous fronts, constantly fighting one battle after another, in service of his principles.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Players fought, fought, fought, gave us every chance in the world.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The Davidson Wildcats’ men’s basketball team hunted the three-ball early and often in the 40th edition of the battle for the Hornets’ Nest, connecting frequently on the way to a 62-55 victory over the Charlotte 49ers on Tuesday night.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Nov. 2025
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In a battle of NFC behemoths, the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (7-2) escaped Green Bay with a 10-7 win.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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As the latter stomped down the catwalk, Anok gave Gabbriette a makeshift haircut.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
27 Oct. 2025
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And the Broncos proceeded to stomp Dallas into the turf at Empower Field for four quarters Sunday in a 44-24 drubbing, their best end-to-end performance of the year.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scuffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffle. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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