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
But you've probably never been pushed to the edge of your seat by a cattle-wrangling cowboy (no offense, Yellowstone).
—
Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026
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
Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrangling
Verb
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For those of us interested in governing and not bickering, this is a good thing.—
Gail Slater,
Rolling Stone,
16 Apr. 2026
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In some states, lawmakers are still bickering over how money should be spent.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Video obtained by The News shows the victim arguing with the dog owner when a woman in red storms up and starts swinging.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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The West Texas project recently received the largest air pollution permit ever granted in the US, while Musk’s Memphis project has faced multiple lawsuits arguing the gas turbines are worsening air quality in historically Black communities.—
Mark Chediak,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Orange County fire officials said firefighters were fighting the blaze on the ground and from the air.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Viel also finished the game by fighting Podkolzin.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The lack of money has, at times, led to quarrelling between the services - most notably pitting the navy against the army and the Royal Air Force.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
22 Apr. 2026
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Police said witness accounts indicate that the couple arrived at Zuri Hotel in Zanzibar on April 4 and had been quarreling frequently until the night of April 8, when hotel management separated them and asked McCann to move to a separate villa about a 10-minute walk away.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wrangling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrangling. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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