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
David Close, CNN Money, 6 June 2025
Beyond that, Neto is too small and slight to retain the ball in a physical tussle with bigger opposition centre-backs, meaning Chelsea can lack a viable outlet when teams force them into longer passes or clearances out of defence.
—Liam Twomey, New York Times, 14 May 2025
W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
Fans started tussling on Thursday, the first night of the Cowboy Carter Tour‘s six-show stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tussle
Noun
The second set was just as much of an even tussle, the pair trading breaks in back-to-back games as the pressure started to mount on Alcaraz.
—David Close, CNN Money, 6 June 2025
Beyond that, Neto is too small and slight to retain the ball in a physical tussle with bigger opposition centre-backs, meaning Chelsea can lack a viable outlet when teams force them into longer passes or clearances out of defence.
—Liam Twomey, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Verb
These issues cost the Democrats in last year’s elections and Newsom is pushing the party to the left of positions many of its candidates took during that campaign.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) tussled with security after trying to interrupt remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
Fans started tussling on Thursday, the first night of the Cowboy Carter Tour‘s six-show stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tussle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tussle
Noun
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In many ways, the game might offer a blueprint for the quarterfinal clash against Paris Saint-Germain.—
Manuel Veth,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
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The stage would seem to be set for another of the Capitol’s periodic work comp clashes.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
28 June 2025
Verb
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The city, county and state all recently wrestled with deficits and the federal government has been both slashing its workforce and attempting to reduce the size of health care programs like Medicaid.—
Blake Nelson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 July 2025
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In a recent interview, the WWE Hall of Famer opened up about his motivations for continuing to wrestle and his thoughts on retirement.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 July 2025
Noun
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Yet Villa were short of cash and the lack of financial headroom brought skirmishes with profit and sustainability rules (PSR).—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
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Could a Stronger Federal System Have Prevented the Texas Disaster and is this even the question to ask? America’s approach to disaster relief has long been one of the recurring skirmishes in the larger political theatre of governance.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Five engines, two trucks, one squad, three ambulances, and three battalion chiefs assisted in fighting the fire.—
Pioneer Press,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
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Others point out the irony that, as the government fixated on enforcing the veiling law and cracking down on political dissidents under the pretext of fighting foreign subversion, its actual adversaries were quietly infiltrating its most sensitive institutions.—
MOHAMMAD AYATOLLAHI TABAAR,
Foreign Affairs,
8 July 2025
Noun
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The battle will continue as Trump has blasted the mainstream media for years and signed an executive order to cut federal funding for National Public Radio and PBS, said U.S. Rep. John B. Larson of East Hartford.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
7 July 2025
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His 2014 film The Grave tells the story of a man who hears about the discovery of a mass grave and escapes from a nursing home to confront his past on the site of the Battle of the Ebro, the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
7 July 2025
Noun
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Even the quiet, eyebrow-raising final moments, which suggest that the struggle for economic justice and equality might be utterly pointless, feel less like a philosophy and more like a real-life capitalist desire for more, more, more.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
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The struggle was so real that Reynolds unveiled a special musical production for McElhenney's birthday devoted to teaching fans the pronunciation of his costar's last name, enlisting the help of some of his famous friends as well as members of the club's hometown.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tussle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tussle. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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