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
-
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.
-
incompatibility or interference, as of one idea, desire, event, or activity with another.
a conflict in the schedule.
-
Psychiatry. a mental struggle arising from opposing demands or impulses.
noun
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a struggle or clash between opposing forces; battle
-
a state of opposition between ideas, interests, etc; disagreement or controversy
-
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
-
to fight
Synonym Usage
See fight.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
conflictionnoun
-
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
-
have been conflictingperfect progressive
-
has been conflictingperfect progressive
Past
-
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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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:
Exhausted after years of conflict, Syrians, left with almost no choice, remain hopeful.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Fighting stopped in the Korean War in 1953, but the two countries never signed a peace treaty and conflict is a very real worry in that part of the world.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
A deal to end the conflict could potentially bring oil prices down, but the market would still have damaged energy facilities and inventories to rebuild, said Louis LaValle, co-founder and chief executive at Frontier Investments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Production and exports of refined products in the Middle East remain heavily disrupted, meaning refineries unaffected by the conflict can benefit from tighter global supplies.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
That conflict between belief and the reality of his life had firmly come home to Washington.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
He has denied any conflicts of interest or that he has been involved in his family's business deals since taking office.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
The U.S. and its allies have used thousands of missiles in conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The Solar Rights Act, established in the 1970s, was key to resolving conflicts between HOAs and their members and paving the way for solar installations as interest in rooftop panels surged in the 2000s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
All investment decisions are “made entirely by independent managers. There are no conflicts of interest,” he told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
He had dreamed of being an interpreter for diplomats and dignitaries, resolving conflicts between people and nations, settling disputes of which he alone could understand both sides.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
On primary day, I was personally conflicted about who I’d vote for.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026
Asked whether Turkish and US plans conflicted, a foreign observer told AFP that Ankara and Washington's positions "are, in fact, aligned".
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
“Because I’m a conflicted party, I can’t actually be in the discussions of the special committees,” Musk told investors.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
As she unpacks her bags, she is clearly conflicted.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
However, just as Aristotelian philosophy conflicted with Islamic teachings, it conflicted with Jewish theology.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
A “memorandum of understanding” struck in June collapsed two weeks after it was signed amid conflicting interpretations of how to unlock shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
There have been conflicting signals about the timing of a potential U.S. attack.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
The family received conflicting information from hospital staff, Alejandra said, with one doctor telling them that Magaña’s injuries were consistent with a fall, while another said he had likely been asphyxiated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
The contrasting results could help explain why earlier studies examining the brains of people with depression have sometimes reached conflicting conclusions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026
They did not advocate the free confrontation of conflicting points of view.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
