conflict

[ verb kuhn-flikt; noun kon-flikt ]
See synonyms for: conflictconflictedconflictingconflicts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to come into collision or disagreement; be contradictory, at variance, or in opposition; clash: The account of one eyewitness conflicted with that of the other. My class conflicts with my going to the concert.

  2. to fight or contend; do battle.

noun
  1. a fight, battle, or struggle, especially a prolonged struggle; strife.

  2. controversy; quarrel: conflicts between parties.

  1. discord of action, feeling, or effect; antagonism or opposition, as of interests or principles: a conflict of ideas.

  2. a striking together; collision.

  3. incompatibility or interference, as of one idea, desire, event, or activity with another: a conflict in the schedule.

  4. Psychiatry. a mental struggle arising from opposing demands or impulses.

Origin of conflict

1
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

synonym study For conflict

3. See fight.

Other words for conflict

Opposites for conflict

Other words from conflict

  • con·flic·tion, noun
  • con·flic·tive, con·flic·to·ry [kuhn-flik-tuh-ree], /kənˈflɪk tə ri/, adjective
  • non·con·flic·tive, adjective
  • pre·con·flict, verb (used without object)
  • pre·con·flict, noun
  • self-con·flict, noun
  • un·con·flic·tive, adjective

Words Nearby conflict

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use conflict in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for conflict

conflict

noun(ˈkɒnflɪkt)
  1. a struggle or clash between opposing forces; battle

  2. a state of opposition between ideas, interests, etc; disagreement or controversy

  1. a clash, as between two appointments made for the same time

  2. 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(kənˈflɪkt) (intr)
  1. to come into opposition; clash

  2. to fight

Origin of conflict

1
C15: from Latin conflictus, from conflīgere to combat, from flīgere to strike

Derived forms of conflict

  • confliction, noun
  • conflictive or conflictory, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012