as in bickering
to express different opinions about something often angrily
a town meeting at which local residents wrangled for hours about property taxes
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Recent Examples of wrangling
In the meantime, the Fed is wrangling with economic data showing that the inflation rate remains above the central bank's 2% annual goal, while surging oil prices are pushing up costs at the gas pump and may ripple through the economy.
—
Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Radcliffe’s audience wrangling was as intuitively sharp as his deeply felt performance.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Snake hunter Mike Kimmel, who has firsthand experience wrangling them, put it bluntly.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Mar. 2026
Abby is reading these teases after wrangling a feisty debate for 10 minutes.
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2026
Bailey and Buendia are representative of the club’s wrangling with financial restrictions and how doing so has checked the evolution of Emery’s squad.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Kayce’s days are spent wrangling horses, and his evenings being haunted by nightmares of tragedies past.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026
That left Olympic skating besties Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir (Faithfuls) in a tight battle versus singer Eric Nam and snake wrangling hearthrob Rob Rausch (Traitors).
—Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Rob works professionally wrangling reptiles around the world.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 23 Feb. 2026
Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Radcliffe’s audience wrangling was as intuitively sharp as his deeply felt performance.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Snake hunter Mike Kimmel, who has firsthand experience wrangling them, put it bluntly.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Mar. 2026
Abby is reading these teases after wrangling a feisty debate for 10 minutes.
—Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill, 11 Mar. 2026
Bailey and Buendia are representative of the club’s wrangling with financial restrictions and how doing so has checked the evolution of Emery’s squad.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Kayce’s days are spent wrangling horses, and his evenings being haunted by nightmares of tragedies past.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026
That left Olympic skating besties Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir (Faithfuls) in a tight battle versus singer Eric Nam and snake wrangling hearthrob Rob Rausch (Traitors).
—Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Rob works professionally wrangling reptiles around the world.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrangling
Verb
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At the time of the invite, Congress was furiously bickering over a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, as Democrats refused to allocate funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
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Jenna is frustrated at his lack of seriousness, and Daisy wishes her department would stop bickering for once.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In reaction, Afreximbank in January formally ended its relationship with one of the Big Three rating agencies, arguing that rating methodologies applied to states and multilateral institutions fail to reflect development mandates.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
10 Apr. 2026
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Combs’ lawyers formally appealed the conviction last December, arguing the encounters were consensual and the trial judge imposed an overly harsh sentence.—
Nicole Acosta,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The camp is entirely dependent on aid, disrupted after cuts by USAID last year and again by fighting between Syrian and Kurdish forces this February.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
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Despite how difficult sitting through the case was, the jurors commended Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez for her fairness — and lead prosecutor Abbe Rifkin for fighting so hard for Quatisha.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Her father, after quarreling with Antigone’s mother, locked her out of their house overnight, which led to a terrible accident.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
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Lydon’s revelation comes after years of quarreling with guitarist Steve Jones, bassist Glen Matlock, and drummer Paul Cook.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wrangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrangling. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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