conflict | ||
1. | [ noun ] an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals) | |
Synonyms: | struggle battle | |
Examples: | "the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs" |
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Related terms: | group_action fight war rebellion strife tug-of-war feud turf_war counterinsurgency counterinsurgency class_struggle battle | |
2. | [ noun ] opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings | |
Examples: | "he was immobilized by conflict and indecision" |
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Related terms: | ambivalence | |
3. | [ noun ] (military) a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war | |
Synonyms: | battle fight engagement | |
Examples: | "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga" "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement" |
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Related terms: | military_action combat assault dogfight naval_battle Drogheda Armageddon Battle_of_Britain pitched_battle war military fight battle | |
4. | [ noun ] an incompatibility of dates or events | |
Examples: | "he noticed a conflict in the dates of the two meetings" |
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Related terms: | incompatibility | |
5. | [ verb ] be in conflict | |
Examples: | "The two proposals conflict!" |
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Related terms: | contrast clash | |
6. | [ noun ] a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests | |
Examples: | "his conflict of interest made him ineligible for the post" "a conflict of loyalties" |
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Related terms: | state cold_war disagreement clash clash | |
7. | [ verb ] go against, as of rules and laws | |
Synonyms: | infringe contravene run_afoul | |
Examples: | "He ran afoul of the law" "This behavior conflicts with our rules" |
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Related terms: | transgress dispute | |
8. | [ noun ] opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot) | |
Examples: | "this form of conflict is essential to Mann's writing" |
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Related terms: | opposition | |
9. | [ noun ] a disagreement or argument about something important | |
Synonyms: | dispute difference_of_opinion difference | |
Examples: | "he had a dispute with his wife" "there were irreconcilable differences" "the familiar conflict between Republicans and Democrats" |
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Related terms: | disagreement fight controversy quarrel collision disagree | |
Similar spelling: |
conflicting conflate confluent compliant complicity complicate conflux complin compliment complicated conflagrate compline compliments |