Synonyms of tussles

tussles 1 of 2

noun

plural of tussle

as in skirmishes

a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups

a small tussle on the basketball court was quickly broken up

Synonyms & Similar Words

• skirmishes
• clashes
• fights
• battles
• scuffles
• struggles
• brawls
• dustups
• frays
• confrontations
• altercations
• conflicts
• contests
• scrimmages
• duels
• fracases
• combats
• quarrels
• scrums
• scraps
• disputes
• hassles
• fisticuffs
• fistfights
• squabbles
• blows
• broils
• melees
• spats
• slugfests
• pitched battles
• tangles
• wrangles
• jousts
• controversies
• mix-ups
• disagreements
• affrays
• ructions
• punch-ups
• tiffs
• ruckuses
• contretemps
• donnybrooks
• battles royal
• catfights
• rows
• punch-outs
• misunderstandings
• fallings-out
• rough-and-tumbles
• grapples
• arguments
• face-offs
• free-for-alls
• cross fires
• handgrips
• kickups
• argle-bargles
• argy-bargies

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truces

tussles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of tussle

as in wrestles

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

• wrestles
• fights
• scuffles
• brawls
• grapples
• battles
• rassles
• duels
• combats
• contends
• wars (against)
• punches
• skirmishes
• hits
• clashes (with)
• strikes
• boxes
• spars
• slugs
• bashes
• buffets
• batters
• beats

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tussles

Noun

Hawkeye tussles with the Russian mafioso trying to drive residents out of his building, plus meets – and, to a degree, passes the bow-and-arrow to – young heroine Kate Bishop. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 8 July 2026

As his tussles with grief and sobriety and heartbreak appear in flashes, so do red and blue police lights. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026

The legal tussles boil down to whether the federal government or the states have primary authority to oversee prediction markets, which allow users to bet on the outcome of sports, elections and many other events. — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 24 June 2026

Roaring and grunting, his body sleek with blood and sweat, Conan tussles and grapples with a series of opponents, dominating them all, while an audience of torch-wielding vulgarians shouts and howls at the pit’s lip. — Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

That Jonas is, himself, a former boy band star who has at times gone it alone, lends the movie a direct connection to contemporary music, where tussles over authorship are increasingly common. — ABC News, 3 June 2026

In later years Coe had serious tussles with the IRS, causing debt, bankruptcy and the lost of publishing rights to even his biggest hits. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2026

There hasn’t been that kind of bad blood that has leaked out in the Canadiens-Lightning and Flyers-Penguins tussles. — Chris Johnston, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026

After Dobbins was shelved before Week 11, the Broncos still had seven more regular-season games on the fight card and two more postseason tussles — and would’ve been three if Nix had been healthy. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026