as in altercation
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
like any couple, they have their spats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to bicker
to express different opinions about something often angrily
we tend to spat over money more than anything else
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of spat
Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune Asia, 29 Nov. 2024
Death Toll in 'Humanitarian Catastrophe' The diplomatic spat comes at the crux of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024
Liam Stack, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2023
South Carolina was on the east bank and Georgia on the west; the temperature was in the fifties, and gray clouds spat water in our faces.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for spat 
Noun
During the first trade spat in 2018 and 2019, the yuan depreciated by 11.5% versus the greenback and offset about two-thirds of the tariff hike, according to analysis from Morgan Stanley economists including Robin Xing.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune Asia, 29 Nov. 2024
Death Toll in 'Humanitarian Catastrophe' The diplomatic spat comes at the crux of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024
Verb
The teenager first asked the hotel to forgive him, the lawsuit said, but soon flew into a rage, screaming that the hotel was antisemitic and that its employees spat in people’s food.
—Liam Stack, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2023
South Carolina was on the east bank and Georgia on the west; the temperature was in the fifties, and gray clouds spat water in our faces.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 21 July 2023
See all Example Sentences for spat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spat
Noun
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Jamie Foxx is thanking fans for their support after an altercation at his birthday dinner this weekend required him to get stitches.Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 15 Dec. 2024
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Things got worse for Curtis, who was arrested and charged with assault because of his altercation with assistant DA Daniels.Barry Levitt, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The sellers are Lydia (Lisa Kudrow) and Paul (Ray Romano), bickering empty nesters saddled with financial woes and a dark secret.Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
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From clicking pens to tapping on the side of the table with their feet to bickering with each other, being a dad is one long challenging lesson in patience.Caleb Harris, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
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That’s the main quarrel of opponents of such conservation projects.Christine Ro, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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Experts at the conference floated the possibility that the aquatic quarrel could make its way to the Supreme Court, though that’s viewed as a crisis that should be averted.Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Labor advocates argue that the level of control Amazon exerts over these workers' conditions more closely resembles an employer-employee relationship.Jack Kelly, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
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One label executive argued that Fanning and Parker belonged in jail, but there was no uniform response.Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Research has distinguished between three simple strategies to deal with neighbor disputes: avoidance of the party whose behavior is experienced as unneighborly; confronting the neighbor face-to-face; and relying on a third party to sort out the issue, e.g. the landlord or even police.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
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Nearly a decade later, a dark storm cloud has descended upon his increasingly unpopular administration, with the resignation of a top Cabinet minister over a dispute about how to manage US president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats.Lex Harvey, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Yet the film won’t fight its way out of the red for Paramount, which spent more than $250 million to return to the arena.Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 22 Dec. 2024
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But this close brush with death symbolized both Trump's amazing comeback from the debacle of the 2020 election and its aftermath and the fighting spirit that led to an Electoral College and popular vote victory in November 2024.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Welcome to the heated and ongoing controversy about this weighty matter.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
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The controversy began after negotiations over the 2025 agreements failed, prompting the teams to file their legal dispute on October 2, 2024, in the Western District of North Carolina.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Damian Priest brawled with the Judgment Day and lost.Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
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The American Kennel Club describes the Staffordshire bull terrier as a dog with a brawling past who can make a mild, playful companion, sweet-natured and eager-to-please with the right training.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024
Articles Related to spat
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Cite this Entry
“Spat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spat. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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