wrangle 1 of 2

wrangle

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun wrangle contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of wrangle are altercation, quarrel, and squabble. While all these words mean "a noisy dispute usually marked by anger," wrangle suggests undignified and often futile disputation with a noisy insistence on differing opinions.

wrangle interminably about small issues

When could altercation be used to replace wrangle?

The synonyms altercation and wrangle are sometimes interchangeable, but altercation implies fighting with words as the chief weapon, although it may also connote blows.

a loud public altercation

When can quarrel be used instead of wrangle?

The words quarrel and wrangle are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, quarrel implies heated verbal contention, stressing strained or severed relations which may persist beyond the contention.

a quarrel nearly destroyed the relationship

When would squabble be a good substitute for wrangle?

Although the words squabble and wrangle have much in common, squabble stresses childish and unseemly dispute over petty matters, but it need not imply bitterness or anger.

a brief squabble over what to do next

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 wrangle
Noun
Keep in mind, users will also have their two skis to wrangle, so every little bit of assistance helps. Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 6 Jan. 2025 Dive tour operators and anglers wrangle In St. Petersburg, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) temporarily closed pier fishing on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge after brown pelicans, ensnared by fishing lines, died. Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
The Covid recession, hitting before prices started to jump, kept the Fed focused on promoting job growth, rather than wrangling inflation. Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 31 Mar. 2025 Instead, stabilizers are cowboys tasked with wrangling a very specific herd: water. Ali Bouzari, Bon Appetit Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wrangle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrangle
Noun
  • If not, the consumer can file a dispute with the credit card issuer, Kiernan said.
    Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 16 May 2025
  • But that same morning, the party suffered a setback that may be more consequential: losing control of the state board that sets voting rules and adjudicates election disputes.
    Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • But if Trump follows through on his intent to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, that may leave Israel and Turkey to bicker over the country without adult supervision.
    Shira Efron, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Morrow and Turner bickered their way in and out of romance amid the tundra and always called one another by their last names, which was weirdly endearing.
    Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 6 May 2025
Noun
  • Knowing her grandson was outside, Mette called out to the group as the commotion grew, demanding the quarrel stop and for her grandchild to leave, sources said.
    Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
  • This time, however, testimony suggested a thornier layer to the quarrel: Phillip said the family had learned a few years earlier that the older brother was not Ferguson’s biological child.
    Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Ramaphosa and other defenders of the Expropriation Act have argued that the policies are needed to reverse the nation’s apartheid-era legacy of disparities in land ownership.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 11 May 2025
  • The same principle can apply in the Read case, where her defense team is arguing off-duty police framed her for the death of her boyfriend, who was also in the local police department.
    Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 10 May 2025
Noun
  • The court appearance had stalled last month due to a fight over access to a parole document.
    Karim Doumar, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2025
  • Collins and the other researchers were able to decipher text describing the fight and ultimate victory of Gawain, his brothers and his father King Loth versus the Saxon Kings Dodalis, Moydas, Oriancés, and Brandalus.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 9 May 2025
Verb
  • The first is that when U.S. soldiers returned from the war there, protesters spat upon them in disdain.
    Jonathan Zimmerman, Foreign Affairs, 19 May 2016
  • The flare comes after nearly a week of flares and coronal plasma ejections spat toward the planet that threatened disruptions to power and communications systems on Earth.
    Greg Wehner, Fox News, 15 May 2024
Noun
  • The jury also saw photos of injuries Ventura sustained from an altercation in December 2011 and photos of her with a black eye mostly concealed by sunglasses in Jamaica in 2013 or 2014.
    Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 15 May 2025
  • An altercation that took place in 2020 resulted in a personal injury lawsuit against Cook by Daniel Cragg and Anne St. Amant on behalf of Gracelyn Trimble (who was apparently injured in the altercation) in the Dakota County District Court in Minnesota.
    Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
Noun
  • The pair’s latest dispute centers on deep disagreements over whether to focus on slashing property taxes or sales taxes.
    Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 8 May 2025
  • After two earlier attempts to pass this bill failed because of disagreements about whether confessions should be exempt from reporting mandates, the final version passed during the legislative session this spring.
    Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 8 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wrangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrangle. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on wrangle

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!