as in brawl
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
the police had to break up an affray that started between fans of the opposing teams
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Recent Examples of affray
Charges include minor in possession of alcohol, destruction of property, drinking in public, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault and battery, disturbing the peace, affray and disorderly, and assault and battery on police officers, Boyle said.
—
Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 17 Mar. 2025
The two men were arrested on suspicion of assault, assault of an emergency worker, affray (fighting in public), and obstructing police.
—Reuters, NBC News, 25 July 2024
That simple affray charge was dismissed on April 22, according to court records.
—Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 8 June 2024
Although Stokes was fully acquitted of affray, the incident had a deep effect on him and was a stop-the-clock moment in his career.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for affray
Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 17 Mar. 2025
The two men were arrested on suspicion of assault, assault of an emergency worker, affray (fighting in public), and obstructing police.
—Reuters, NBC News, 25 July 2024
That simple affray charge was dismissed on April 22, according to court records.
—Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 8 June 2024
Although Stokes was fully acquitted of affray, the incident had a deep effect on him and was a stop-the-clock moment in his career.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for affray
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affray
Noun
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That heated game ended in a post-match brawl that included Inter Miami players and a Seattle staff member throwing punches and Miami forward Luis Suarez spitting on a Sounders security official.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
17 Sep. 2025
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McNamara’s shooting of Green quickly garnered controversy after it was established — by witnesses and security video — that Green was a peacemaker in a brawl that erupted inside the La Victoria restaurant next to San Jose State University, where Green had done a campus visit earlier in the day.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Student accused of mocking Charlie Kirk death Camryn Giselle Booker, a student at Texas Tech University, was arrested on charges of assault after an altercation with students mourning the death of Charlie Kirk.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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Campus police arrested a student at Texas Tech University in connection to an altercation with students who were mourning the death of Charlie Kirk, officials confirmed.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The real clash with liberals is not over how big government should be, but over what the state should be empowered to do.—
Allan J. Lichtman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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Their violent clash of characters in the Marvel series, which has been a solid performer on Disney+, underpinned the original Netflix action series.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Affray.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affray. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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