What does conflict mean?
Definitions for conflict
kənˈflɪkt; ˈkɒn flɪktcon·flict
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word conflict.
Princeton's WordNet
conflict, struggle, battlenoun
an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)
"the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs"
conflictnoun
opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings
"he was immobilized by conflict and indecision"
battle, conflict, fight, engagementnoun
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
"Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement"
conflictnoun
a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests
"his conflict of interest made him ineligible for the post"; "a conflict of loyalties"
conflictnoun
an incompatibility of dates or events
"he noticed a conflict in the dates of the two meetings"
conflictnoun
opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot)
"this form of conflict is essential to Mann's writing"
dispute, difference, difference of opinion, conflictverb
a disagreement or argument about something important
"he had a dispute with his wife"; "there were irreconcilable differences"; "the familiar conflict between Republicans and Democrats"
conflictverb
be in conflict
"The two proposals conflict!"
conflict, run afoul, infringe, contraveneverb
go against, as of rules and laws
"He ran afoul of the law"; "This behavior conflicts with our rules"
Wiktionary
conflictnoun
often violent, between two opposing groups or individuals.
The conflict between the government and the rebels began three years ago.
conflictverb
to disagree or be incompatible
Etymology: From conflictus, past participle of confligere, from com- (a form of con-) + fligere
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
A Conflictnoun
Etymology: conflictus, Latin.
Pour dephlegmed spirit of vinegar upon salt of tartar, and there will be such a conflict or ebullition, as if there were scarce two more contrary bodies in nature. Robert Boyle, Scept. Chym.
The luckless conflict with the giant stout,
Wherein captiv’d, of life or death he stood in doubt. Fairy Queen, b. i. can.
7. stanz. 26.It is my father’s face,
Whom in this conflict I unawares have kill’d. William Shakespeare, H. VI.There is a kind of merry war betwixt signior Benedick and her: they never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them. — Alas! he gets nothing by that. In our last conflict, four of his five wits went halting off. William Shakespeare.
No assurance touching victories can make present conflicts so sweet and easy, but nature will shun and shrink from them. Richard Hooker, b. v. sect. 48.
If he attempt this great change, with what labour and conflict must he accomplish it? John Rogers, Sermon.
He perceiv’d
Th’ unequal conflict then, as angels look
On dying saints. James Thomson, Summer, l. 1190.To CONFLICTverb
To strive; to contest; to fight; to struggle; to contend; to encounter; to engage.
Etymology: confligo, Lat.
Bare unhoused trunks
To the conflicting elements exposed,
Answer meer nature. William Shakespeare, Timon.You shall hear under the earth a horrible thundering of fire and water conflicting together. Francis Bacon, Natural History.
A man would be content to strive with himself, and conflict with great difficulties, in hopes of a mighty reward. John Tillotson.
Lash’d into foam, the fierce conflicting brine
Seems o’er a thousand raging waves to burn. James Thomson, Winter.
ChatGPT
conflict
Conflict refers to a state of disagreement, opposition, or struggle between two or more parties due to incompatible ideas, interests, or values. It can manifest in various contexts, such as in a story or drama, interpersonal relationships, within an individual's mind, or between countries or groups. Conflict usually involves tension and can result in fights, arguments, wars, or psychological distress, depending on its context and severity.
Webster Dictionary
Conflict
a striking or dashing together; violent collision; as, a conflict of elements or waves
Conflict
a strife for the mastery; hostile contest; battle; struggle; fighting
Conflictverb
to strike or dash together; to meet in violent collision; to collide
Conflictverb
to maintain a conflict; to contend; to engage in strife or opposition; to struggle
Conflictverb
to be in opposition; to be contradictory
Freebase
Conflict
Conflict refers to some form of friction, disagreement, or discord arising within a group when the beliefs or actions of one of more members of the group are either resisted by or unacceptable to one or more members of another group. Conflict can arise between members of the same group, known as intragroup conflict, or it can occur between members of two or more groups, and involve violence, interpersonal discord, and psychological tension, known as intergroup conflict. Conflict in groups often follows a specific course. Routine group interaction is first disrupted by an initial conflict, often caused by differences of opinion, disagreements between members, or scarcity of resources. At this point, the group is no longer united, and may split into coalitions. This period of conflict escalation in some cases gives way to a conflict resolution stage, after which the group can eventually return to routine group interaction once again.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Conflict
kon′flikt, n. violent collision: a struggle or contest: a battle: a mental struggle.—v.i. Conflict′, to fight: contend: to be in opposition: to clash.—adj. Conflict′ing, clashing: contradictory.—n. Conflic′tion.—adj. Conflict′ive, tending to conflict. [L. confligĕre—con, together, and fligĕre, to strike.]
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
conflict
An armed struggle or clash between organized groups within a nation or between nations in order to achieve limited political or military objectives. Although regular forces are often involved, irregular forces frequently predominate. Conflict often is protracted, confined to a restricted geographic area, and constrained in weaponry and level of violence. Within this state, military power in response to threats may be exercised in an indirect manner while supportive of other instruments of national power. Limited objectives may be achieved by the short, focused, and direct application of force.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
conflict
An indecisive action.
Editors Contribution
Suggested Resources
conflict
Song lyrics by conflict -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by conflict on the Lyrics.com website.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'conflict' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1845
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'conflict' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2931
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'conflict' in Nouns Frequency: #666
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of conflict in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of conflict in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Examples of conflict in a Sentence
Stanford President John Hennessy:
It’s clearly at some level a conflict, it’s not a direct conflict, but it is a worrisome issue.
The three fundamental Rules of Robotics...One: a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm...Two:..a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law...Three: a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First and Second Laws.
One, a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm Two, a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law Three, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
No doubt there are other important things in life besides conflict, but there are not many other things so inevitably interesting. The very saints interest us most when we think of them as enganged in a conflict with the Devil.
The United States is very concerned about the conflict's toll on innocent civilians and is working to bring the conflict in Yemen to an end. But we can not end The United States through ill-conceived and time-consuming resolutions that fail to address The United States root causes, rather than expend time and resources on such resolutions, I encourage the Congress to direct its efforts toward supporting our work to achieve peace through a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Yemen.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for conflict
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- صراع, نزاعArabic
- münaqişə, konfliktAzerbaijani
- канфліктBelarusian
- сблъсквам се, противоречие, противореча, несъвместим съм, несъвместимост, стълкновение, конфликтBulgarian
- conflicteCatalan, Valencian
- střet, konfliktCzech
- konflikt, overlappe, være i modstrid medDanish
- Konflikt, Streit, InkompatibilitätGerman
- σύγκρουση, σύρραξηGreek
- coincidir, discrepancia, conflictoSpanish
- konfliktEstonian
- تضاد, ناسازگاری, درگیریPersian
- ristiriita, törmätä, konflikti, olla ristiriidassaFinnish
- conflit, incompatibilitéFrench
- coinbhleachtIrish
- còmhragScottish Gaelic
- התנגש, חוסר התאמה, התנגשות, סכסוךHebrew
- संघर्षHindi
- konfliktusHungarian
- կոնֆլիկտArmenian
- konflikIndonesian
- konfliktoIdo
- incompatibilità, conflittoItalian
- 対立する, 衝突する, 合わない, 衝突, バッティングする, 紛争Japanese
- კონფლიქტიGeorgian
- 충돌, 衝突Korean
- certamineLatin
- konfliktasLithuanian
- konfliktsLatvian
- конфликтMacedonian
- konflikMalay
- konfliktNorwegian
- strijdig, geschil, tegenstrijdigheid, met, conflict, onverenigbaarheid, conflicteren, confligeren, zijn, strijd, overlappenDutch
- konfliktNorwegian Nynorsk
- walka, konfliktPolish
- coincidir, conflito, conflitarPortuguese
- ceartă, conflictRomanian
- конфликтовать, конфликт, столкновениеRussian
- сукоб, sukob, конфликт, konfliktSerbo-Croatian
- stret, konfliktSlovak
- konflikt, spor, nasprotovanje, nasprotovatiSlovene
- konfliktSwedish
- anlaşmazlık, çatışma, fikir ayrılığıTurkish
- конфліктUkrainian
- تنازعاتUrdu
- 衝突, xung độtVietnamese
- קאָנפליקטYiddish
- 冲突Chinese
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