conflict
A clash or disagreement, often violent, between two or more opposing groups or individuals.
Example
“The conflict between the government and the rebels began three years ago.”
Other meanings
An incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled.
“I wanted to attend the meeting but there's a conflict in my schedule that day.”
in fiction/literature, opposing forces that create uncertainty as to whether the character(s) will achieve their goal(s).
Synonyms
- struggle
Related words
- anticonflict
- conflictarian
- conflictful
- conflictive
- conflictless
- conflictory
- conflictual
- cyberconflict
- deconflict
- metaconflict
- nonconflict
- postconflict
Example sentences
Word history
From Latin "cōnflīctus".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “conflict” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.