conflict
Americanverb (used without object)
-
conflicts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
conflicted,
past participle, past
-
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:
“I wish I could blame the fact that no woman can put up with me on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but I don’t think that’s the issue.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
On Friday, attention turns to August consumer price figures for the Tokyo metropolitan area that will indicate if higher oil prices triggered by the Middle East conflict are filtering through to broader consumer costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Otunnu, 75, served as UN under-secretary general and special representative for children and armed conflict from 1997 to 2005 under then UN chief Kofi Annan.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Iran, however, has long faced sanctions and has so far shown a willingness to endure pain and a capacity to adapt to immense economic and military pressure as the conflict drags on.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Although he was too young to be involved directly in the Civil War, the repercussions of the conflict did affect Hooke.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
The researchers state that they have no conflicts of interest.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
In acreage terms, Germany’s wildfires are small, but they are getting worse—and the conflicts of the last century add an extra dimension of peril.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Kelly added: “There are no conflicts of interest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Taipei's announcement comes as governments around the world boost defence spending in the face of intensifying conflicts, and growing concern about US commitment to the Asia-Pacific region.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
“Patients in traditional forms of psychotherapy while away their fifty minutes reliving childhood conflicts and learning to blame their unhappiness on how their parents treated them,” Pinker wrote.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
That conclusion conflicted with the prevailing view at the time, which held that the universe was static and had remained essentially the same throughout cosmic history.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
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
Lando Norris is conflicted - up to a point, anyway.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Just like Father was conflicted before deciding to bring me on the Oklahoma trail.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Yet researchers have struggled for years to determine exactly how the material responds under such extreme conditions because laboratory measurements and computer simulations have produced conflicting results.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
“At a minimum, the evidence regarding medical care is conflicting and the reported differences in reality are stark,” Gee wrote in her order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Founding Father worked closely with the Continental Congress and balanced the conflicting demands of military officers and civic leaders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Adlam said the conflicting reports had been making her "more and more angry" and the uncertainty had left her family "in turmoil".
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
As my time at Healdtown was coming to an end, I had many new and sometimes conflicting ideas floating in my head.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
