conflict
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
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a fight, battle, or struggle, especially a prolonged struggle; strife.
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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
-
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
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conflictionnoun
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preconflictnoun
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self-conflictnoun
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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
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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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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.
Inflation, meanwhile, is expected to be on the way down as long as the Iran conflict continues to subside and doesn’t have large second-round effects, the head of analysis said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
But for the people who live here, the conflict is measured in different terms - livelihoods lost, nights spent under the threat of air strikes, and the hope that this fragile ceasefire will endure.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026
South and North Korea are technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026
Still, the labor market has remained resilient throughout the conflict.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
By the time the four-year conflict ended, four million men had taken up weapons.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
