conflict
noun /ˈkɒnflɪkt 
/
/1A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one: the eternal conflict between the sexes [mass noun]: doctors often come into conflict with politicians...
- At present, the reform agenda had been derailed by the protracted conflict between the government and the legislative body, he said.
- At the root of the culture war is a conflict between theism and atheism
- There is a real conflict between the industrial and political wings of the labour movement.
Synonyms
dispute, quarrel, squabble, disagreement, difference of opinion, dissension;
discord, friction, strife, antagonism, antipathy, ill will, bad blood, hostility, falling-out, disputation, contention;
clash, altercation, shouting match, exchange, war of words;
tussle, fracas, affray, wrangle, tangle, passage of/at arms, battle royal, feud, schism
1.1A prolonged armed struggle: regional conflicts...
- More than 300,000 child soldiers are fighting in armed conflicts in more than thirty countries worldwide.
- Fighting in an armed conflict does not constitute murder, or aiding an ‘enemy’.
- The recent local wars and armed conflicts taught us to pay special attention to the paratroopers' armaments.
Synonyms
war, armed conflict, action, military action, campaign, battle, fighting, fight, (armed) confrontation, (armed) clash, engagement, encounter, (armed) struggle, hostilities;
warfare, warring, combat, strife
informal set-to, scrap
archaic rencounter
1.2 [mass noun] A state of mind in which a person experiences a clash of opposing feelings or needs: bewildered by her own inner conflict, she could only stand there feeling vulnerable...
- To experience conflict with a therapist and learn to resolve it is often the path out of depression.
- These issues were salient in the lives of these teens and were conducive to both the exploration of alternatives and the experience of conflict.
- There was a positive correlation between conflict and depression, anxiety, and stress.
1.3A serious incompatibility between two or more opinions, principles, or interests: there was a conflict between his business and domestic life...
- For the very same people to firstly decide on that and then be the principal beneficiaries of its policies and money is a serious conflict of interest.
- Of course, as I reported a couple of weeks ago, the board has a serious conflict of interest on its hands.
- Directors who are aware of a conflict of interest in any proposed contract are required to draw it to the attention of the board, but may thereafter take part in any vote on the matter.
Synonyms
clash, incompatibility, incongruity, lack of congruence, friction, opposition, mismatch, variance, difference, divergence, contradiction, inconsistency, discrepancy, divided loyalties
verb /kənˈflɪkt / [no object]
/ [no object]1Be incompatible or at variance; clash: parents' and children’s interests sometimes conflict the date for the match conflicted with a religious festival...
- On the basis of existing trials, such a trial would be ethical because present evidence is conflicting.
- National guidance derived from the records of multiple organisations was conflicting.
- However the two fundamental rights must not be seen as inherently conflicting.
Synonyms
clash, be incompatible, be inconsistent, be incongruous, be in opposition, be at variance, vary, be at odds, be in conflict, come into conflict, differ, diverge, disagree, contrast, collide
contradictory, incompatible, inconsistent, irreconcilable, incongruous, contrary, opposite, opposing, opposed, antithetical, clashing, discordant, differing, different, divergent, discrepant, varying, disagreeing, contrasting;
at odds, in opposition, at variance
rare oppugnant
1.1 (as adjective conflicted) Having or showing confused and mutually inconsistent feelings: he remains a little conflicted about Marlene...
- The entire middle part of the film is devoted to the couple's conflicted struggle to save him.
- To be fair, the vice president faced a conflicted public opinion environment.
- But back then, the social conservatives were an emerging force with conflicted roots.
Derivatives
conflictual
- Through intense and often conflictual negotiations among neighbourhood representatives, these delegates list priorities for each type of capital expenditure such as basic sanitation, street paving and parks.
- The two unions also have had a troubled - sometimes cooperative, sometimes conflictual - relationship in several other states on organizing both home childcare and healthcare workers.
- If doctors assume the role of social worker, politician or even policeman, their relations with patients are likely to become more authoritarian and conflictual.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin conflict- 'struck together, fought', from the verb confligere, from con- 'together' + fligere 'to strike'; the noun is via Latin conflictus 'a contest'.
Conflict is from Latin conflict- ‘struck together, fought’, from the verb confligere, from con- ‘together’ and fligere ‘to strike’.