conflict

[ verb kuhn-flikt; noun kon-flikt ]

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.

   Synonyms: oppose, collide

2. to fight or contend; do battle.

noun

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

   Synonyms: siege, encounter

2. controversy; quarrel:

   conflicts between parties.

   Antonyms: accord

3. discord of action, feeling, or effect; antagonism or opposition, as of interests or principles:

   a conflict of ideas.

   Synonyms: opposition, contention

4. a striking together; collision.
5. incompatibility or interference, as of one idea, desire, event, or activity with another:

   a conflict in the schedule.

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

conflict

noun

1. a struggle or clash between opposing forces; battle
2. a state of opposition between ideas, interests, etc; disagreement or controversy
3. a clash, as between two appointments made for the same time
4. 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

1. to come into opposition; clash
2. to fight

Derived Forms

• conˈfliction, noun
• conˈflictive, adjective

Other Words From

• con·flic·tion noun
• con·flic·tive con·flic·to·ry [k, uh, n-, flik, -t, uh, -ree], 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of conflict¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of conflict¹

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

Synonym Study

See fight.

Example Sentences

I had been investigating climate change as a new driver of both large-scale migration around the world and of potential conflict.

From Salon

“We’re entering a time when the pie is not going to enlarge as rapidly … a time when there is going to be heightened group conflict.”

From Salon

The research, published in the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, found that in 70% of the posts deemed to be the most substantive, the writers “accepted or exploited climate change.”

From Salon

Palestinians, already disillusioned with the US over Joe Biden’s support for Israel during the war in Gaza, say Trump’s pick for ambassador suggests the next president will make the prospect of an eventual two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict even more remote.

From BBC

Like a nonfiction novel, Keefe’s book traces five decades of thorny history from the perspective of real-life characters, including the notorious Price sisters, Marian and Dolours, I.R.A. militants whose prison hunger strikes made front-page news in the 1970s, and Gerry Adams, the political leader who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland but has been accused of participating in atrocities committed during the height of the conflict.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• battle
• clash
• combat
• competition
• rivalry
• strife
• struggle
• war