as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
several chairs were knocked over in the scuffle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
she scuffled along in shoes that were much too large for her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to wrestle
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery
the burglar and the homeowner briefly scuffled together in the dark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scuffle
Stella Kim, NBC News, 4 Dec. 2024
After routing Temple in the season opener, the Sooners have scuffled a bit.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
Democrats are scuffling to control the two houses of the state legislature — with a majority in neither.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 25 Jan. 2025
For one, the Penguins have been scuffling in recent games and badly needed a win to right their playoff aspirations.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Verb
They were joined by hundreds of protesters, some of whom scuffled with the 300 or so soldiers and police officers at the site.
—Stella Kim, NBC News, 4 Dec. 2024
After routing Temple in the season opener, the Sooners have scuffled a bit.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
Democrats are scuffling to control the two houses of the state legislature — with a majority in neither.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 25 Jan. 2025
For one, the Penguins have been scuffling in recent games and badly needed a win to right their playoff aspirations.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffle
Noun
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Musk’s latest statement marks yet another escalation in the ongoing skirmish.—
Dimitar 'Mix' Mihov,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
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As per an incident report obtained by the Miami Herald, multiple guests eventually joined in the skirmish at Manor Complex entertainment complex in Wilton Manors in the early hours of Jan. 26.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The plan involved shuffling around existing crew assignments to free up two of the four seats on a SpaceX capsule that launched in late September, so that Wilmore and Williams could occupy the seats on the return trip.—
Denise Chow,
NBC News,
20 Feb. 2025
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For all of the conversation late last year analyzing how quickly Sporting KC might be able to shuffle the chairs — or even Vermes praising the way his team played Wednesday — a swap at striker, a swap in the mentality at striker, transcends everything else.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Drought breakers With a fourth-place finish in Class 2A at 215 pounds, senior Genesis Ward became Evergreen Park’s first boys wrestling state medalist since 1996.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2025
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Two men wrestled three large timpani drums up the steps to the space before the altar.—
Thomas Curwen,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Chicago Fire April 19: Columbus Crew May 10: Minnesota United May 14: San Jose Earthquakes May 24: Philadelphia Union The good news for out-of-Miami Messi fans is that – so far – there are no direct schedule clashes between the Argentina national team schedule and the Herons’ itinerary.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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The sun’s clash with Jupiter encourages you to accept a promising career opportunity!—
USA TODAY,
USA TODAY,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Those concerns came to a head during Biden's debate against now-President Donald Trump in June, when Biden sounded hoarse and appeared to stumble through several answers.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
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Skype won attention in the 2000s for giving people a way to talk without paying the phone company, but stumbled in the mobile era and didn’t enjoy a major resurgence during the pandemic.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The trailer above, which dropped on Wednesday, introduces you to the new couples fighting to see if their love can withstand temptation and drama, but there’s a catch.—
Gabriela Silva,
TVLine,
26 Feb. 2025
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Since its establishment in 1992, The Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised over $600 million to support more than 3,100 projects in 95 countries, working to increase healthcare access and fight LGBTQ+ stigma.—
Jeetendr Sehdev,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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So, too, did anticolonial nationalists in the twentieth century conceive of their battles against Western empires in this way.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
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But this emerging trend also comes with new challenges: more legal battles over data ownership, stiffer privacy regulations and rising costs of data acquisition.—
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Warren’s deep, husky voice frees himself from the blame of an unhealthy relationship over a stomping piano beat.—
Rania Aniftos,
Billboard,
21 Jan. 2025
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Boston stomped the competition last season en route to winning their record 18th NBA championship.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
1 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scuffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffle. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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