conflict
Americanverb (used without object)
-
conflicts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conflicted,
past participle, past
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conflicting
present participle
noun
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conflicts
plural
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a fight, battle, or struggle, especially a prolonged struggle; strife.
-
controversy; quarrel.
conflicts between parties.
- Antonyms:
- accord
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discord of action, feeling, or effect; antagonism or opposition, as of interests or principles.
a conflict of ideas.
- Synonyms:
- opposition, contention
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a striking together; collision.
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incompatibility or interference, as of one idea, desire, event, or activity with another.
a conflict in the schedule.
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Psychiatry. a mental struggle arising from opposing demands or impulses.
noun
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a struggle or clash between opposing forces; battle
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a state of opposition between ideas, interests, etc; disagreement or controversy
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a clash, as between two appointments made for the same time
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psychol opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible wishes or drives, sometimes leading to a state of emotional tension and thought to be responsible for neuroses
verb
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to come into opposition; clash
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to fight
Synonym Usage
See fight.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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conflictionnoun
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preconflictnoun
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self-conflictnoun
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preconflictverb (used without object)
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conflictiveadjective
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conflictoryadjective
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nonconflictiveadjective
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unconflictiveadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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conflictsimple
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conflictssimple
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have conflictedperfect
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has conflictedperfect
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am conflictingprogressive
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are conflictingprogressive
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is conflictingprogressive
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have been conflictingperfect progressive
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has been conflictingperfect progressive
Past
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conflictedsimple
-
had conflictedperfect
-
was conflictingprogressive
-
were conflictingprogressive
-
had been conflictingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of conflict
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English (noun), from Latin conflīctus “a striking together,” equivalent to conflīg(ere) “to strike together, contend” ( con- con- + flīgere “to strike”) + -tus suffix of verb action; (verb) from Latin conflīctus, past participle of conflīgere, or by verb use of the noun
Explanation
A conflict is a struggle or an opposition. If you and your best friend both fall in love with the same person, you will have to find some way to resolve the conflict. Conflict comes from the Latin word for striking, but it isn't always violent. Conflict can arise from opposing ideas. If you want to turn your empty lot into a community garden but your wife envisions a shooting range, you have a conflict. If you're torn between two different desires, you're conflicted. Conflict can also be a verb. If you schedule a dentist appointment that conflicts with a meeting, you'll have to cancel one of them.
Vocabulary lists containing conflict
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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List 7
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Essential Literary Terms
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead, they expect a prolonged series of halting starts and stops to the conflict, causing flows through the Strait of Hormuz to continuously fluctuate.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Yemen's years-long civil conflict killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted millions and drove the country to the brink of famine before a 2022 truce restored relative calm.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
He has also expressed displeasure with other allies for their hesitance to get involved in the conflict, including Japan, France and the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
He remembered being an anxious child who was "always keen to please" and eager to avoid conflict - traits he still recognises in himself today.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Meanwhile, diplomats hurried back and forth between European capitals, exchanging notes, hoping to contain any fighting and avoid a wider conflict.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
They sold gold, ivory and ultimately enslaved Africans, often those captured in local conflicts, in exchange for the manufactured goods brought mainly by the British and Dutch, including textiles, alcohol and guns.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
That’s mainly because global refining capacity for finished fuels is severely constrained by geopolitical conflicts and facility disruptions, even as crude supplies remain relatively stable.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
A few of the obstacles layered in — Ed’s struggle to write and some show-night personality conflicts — feel a tad obligatory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
“Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and lingering inflation concerns contributed to market volatility.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
So the agencies, encouraged by the success of that early round of resettlement, brought in other refugees—survivors of the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo, and oppressed minorities from the former Soviet Union.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Throughout the interview, Bash repeatedly interrupted Kennedy to challenge claims she said conflicted with the broader scientific consensus, particularly on COVID-19 vaccines and autism research.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
I’m conflicted — do I exclude her from my will?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Investors’ focus on tech earnings stems from their conflicted feelings about AI investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
"I'm conflicted when it comes to the World Cup," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
“Thank you for saving me. I was … conflicted for a second. But not anymore.”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The California regulator was the last state to approve Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier, due to concerns about conflicting federal and state-level diversity policies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
It fell apart within a week, predictably, as the two sides acted on conflicting interpretations of its central provisions.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
There have been conflicting signals from both sides, with the Iranian foreign ministry denying US President Donald Trump's assertion that talks were under way.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
He also pointed to an earlier statement that noted that an initial version of New York’s AI measure would have forced companies to “navigate conflicting state and federal requirements.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
His mind swirled like a dust devil, conflicting memories chasing each other in circles.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
