tussle 1 of 2

noun

ˈtə-səl How to pronounce tussle (audio)
Definition of tusslenext
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tussle

2 of 2

verb

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tussle
Noun
The Coastal Commission signed off on the project a few years ago, after tussles over low-cost housing provisions during the course of erecting yet another luxury hotel. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 Firms and their VCs tussle for relevance, ownership, and board seats. — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Verb
Madden tussled with the co-op, at one point unsuccessfully trying to buy the fourth-floor apartment to make a duplex of her own. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026 He was seen dancing at San Diego Comic Con, getting arrested in Times Square, giving out free hugs on the Santa Monica Pier, and tussling with an AMC employee over a bag of popcorn. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tussle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tussle
  1. clash
  2. wrestle
  3. skirmish
  4. fight
  5. battle
  6. scuffle
  7. struggle
Noun
  • More Tensions in Tigray have escalated for months with clashes and airstrikes.
    — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • After quarterback Camren Ketner was injured, Frithsmith switched positions late in the third quarter and helped Hart (4-1) take over as the league title favorite ahead of its clash with Valencia.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of clash
Verb
  • The album folded electronic textures, orchestral flourishes, studio experimentation and huge melodies into songs that wrestled with politics, mortality, love, fear and the strange business of being alive.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Related Explore See latest videos, charts and news Set between about 1968 and 1980, McCartney starts on his isolated Scottish farm with his wife, Linda, and growing family, wrestling with what to do with his newfound freedom.
    — Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of wrestle
Noun
  • Ties between the two countries, which had deteriorated sharply following a deadly border skirmish in 2020, have been thawing for more than a year.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The duo walks away from this skirmish, though not unscathed, as Samjad quickly and economically sets up a blistering saga of stylish reprisals with no holds barred.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of skirmish
Verb
  • Kosovo has criticized the verdicts as unjust, maintaining that the KLA, which Thaci had led before entering politics, fought against Serbian oppression.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • His emphasis on fighting crime, his anti-left agenda and his confrontations with the Supreme Federal Court and Brazil’s political establishment directly appeal to issues that have mobilized Bolsonaro’s base for years.
    — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of fight
Noun
  • The sequence in which a half dozen planes battle Ghidorah in the air is grand, eye-popping filmmaking.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Now, Anthropic has lost a key battle in its fight against being designated a supply chain risk by the US government.
    — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of battle
Noun
  • At first, the scuffle only involved the original two women, but quickly chaos broke out as smaller fights broke out all over from around a dozen friends or spectators, the report read.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Three Argentina players — Leandro Paredes, Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada — were recently handed bans by FIFA for a scuffle after losing the the World Cup final.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of scuffle
Noun
  • Both residents and politicians fear the court ruling would tarnish Kosovo's independence struggle.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Evidence at the crime scene led investigators to believe there had likely been a struggle between Feldman and her killer leading up her death, suggesting that Feldman had fought hard.
    — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of struggle

Browse Nearby Words

tushes
tussle
tussled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tussle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tussle. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tittle

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All