as in clash
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
a small tussle on the basketball court was quickly broken up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to wrestle
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery
puppies tussling with one another, rolling over and over on the carpet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tussle
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
Now comes the tussle over the final budget and Hochul must stand fast against Mamdani’s calls for higher taxes.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
Would Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic stay on the right side of the match officials when tussling with Gabriel and William Saliba?
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tussle
Noun
From Agnes’ brutal childbirth scenes to the wrenching heartbreak when the plague hits their household and takes 11-year-old Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), Zhao immerses you in Agnes and Will’s grief while also touching on their own individual internal tussles.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
Now comes the tussle over the final budget and Hochul must stand fast against Mamdani’s calls for higher taxes.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
Two hummingbirds tussled in low branches.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
Would Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic stay on the right side of the match officials when tussling with Gabriel and William Saliba?
—Carl Anka, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tussle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tussle
Noun
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What then focused his mind was the clash within the United States—and by extension the rest of the West.—
Josef Joffe,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
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The immigration crackdown has featured a cycle of escalation in which armed officers are met by angry protesters, leading to dramatic clashes.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The question is whether leaders are willing to use them not as stages, but as workshops for ideas, as places to wrestle honestly with the hardest questions and decisions of our time.—
Alan H.H. Fleischmann,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
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Freedom wrestled without two starters but still managed to score its first FHSAA duals wrestling state quarterfinal victory against Wellington on Friday.—
Steve Gorches,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Instead, an arcane academic skirmish has devolved into open hostilities.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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Meanwhile, in Milan, a skirmish broke out between police and demonstrators at the end of a protest that police said, according to The Associated Press, initially numbered 10,000 and was peaceful.—
Denny Alfonso,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For some people, dogs are a way to feel loved, to relieve pressures to have kids, to fight the drudgery of their job, to reduce the stress of the rat race and to connect with the outdoors.—
Margret Grebowicz,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
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Ask a Native person why Native people have volunteered to fight in the US’s wars overseas, including in Korea, my homeland, and Vietnam, the most recent nation of origin of many of my refugee friends.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The star of the cache was a near-complete Iron Age battle trumpet, or carnyx — used to blare eerie sounds in battle and rally troops against the enemy.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Alain Hamel is credited with catching the giant flatfish, which was pulled through the ice after a two-and-a-half hour battle.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Though the two companies have been long-term rivals, the Super Bowl ad was one of the first times the scuffle was so public.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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The scuffle hasn't appeared to damage relations, though.—
Taylor Seely,
AZCentral.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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If Grosz’s first book, The Examined Life, was all about his patients’ personal lives and struggles, Love’s Labor—which is written in a similar way, as a series of case studies—is much more interested in his patients’ approach to love, specifically.—
Daisy Jones,
Vogue,
10 Feb. 2026
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Continue reading … ROYAL RECKONING – Princesses Beatrice, Eugenie struggle with fallout from latest Epstein doc drop.—
,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tussle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tussle. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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