as in dispute
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions
judging from all the slamming and banging, I'd say there was some sort of altercation going on next door
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of altercation
Police said that a verbal altercation between the two men escalated into a fight that spilled outside the home.
—
Christopher Derose, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Two other people were assaulted during the altercation but were not shot.
—Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
The 25-year-old came to the defense of Jamal Murray after an exchange of bumps early in the second quarter, sparking a minor altercation.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026
Investigators found that an altercation on the bus allegedly involved the suspect and an unidentified female, according to Jaques.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for altercation
Christopher Derose, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Two other people were assaulted during the altercation but were not shot.
—Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
The 25-year-old came to the defense of Jamal Murray after an exchange of bumps early in the second quarter, sparking a minor altercation.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026
Investigators found that an altercation on the bus allegedly involved the suspect and an unidentified female, according to Jaques.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for altercation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for altercation
Noun
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The high-profile dispute has, over the past year and a half, ensnared several other celebrities in Lively and Baldoni's orbit as the discovery process in their case exposed the stars' private communications.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
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Owens had expressed frustrations to her mother about an ongoing dispute with her neighbor Susan Lorincz that dated back to February 2022.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Department of Defense’s quarrel with the Anthropic began after the company refused to back down over contractual guardrails around the use of its Claude AI model in autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.—
Devan Cole,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2026
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My quarrel is not with the science of LNG itself.—
Joel McPherson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Fundraising for the project through private donations also drew controversy.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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The controversy surrounding the North Natomas micro-community comes amid a heated re-election campaign for Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, who represents the area.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But there are issues and there are disagreements and there are hurt feelings.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
4 Apr. 2026
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Yes, but major disagreements remained.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The confrontation, which led to multiple 911 calls reporting a fight involving a firearm, resulted in the arrest of Ahmad Zeeshan.—
Nikiya Carrero,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
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The United States Powered Paragliding Association and Experimental Aircraft Association have written letters supporting the ultralight pilots in their fight against the county airport, as cited in the documents under review for the FAA’s upcoming decision.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Lueders eventually co-founded Few and the Proud, the band that would evolve into Convicted and finally Harm’s Way, transitioning from power violence toward brawl-ready hardcore punk, with various strands of metal thrown in from one album to the next.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
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Jarred Cavan died of his injuries after being stabbed during a brawl just outside Milpitas High School in Santa Clara County on Tuesday afternoon.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Huskies coach ripped into the officiating during a live TV interview and then had a heated argument with Staley in the final seconds of their 62-48 loss to the Gamecocks.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
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The mayor cites recent data to support his arguments.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Yet the agency tasked with keeping Americans safe — one of the few responsibilities just about everyone agrees is appropriate for government — remains unfunded as Congress bickers over immigration politics.—
Editorial Board,
Washington Post,
2 Mar. 2026
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And that’s just one of a litany of things on and off the field that the two bicker over.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Altercation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/altercation. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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