COMBATS Synonyms: 179 Similar and Opposite Words

combats 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of combat

as in fights

to oppose (someone) in physical conflict a general eager to combat the enemy on his own ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in opposes

to strive to reduce or eliminate must marshal all of our resources to combat this disease

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

combats

2 of 2

noun

plural of combat

as in actions

active fighting during the course of a war a soldier who served throughout the war without actually seeing combat

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in skirmishes

a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups the two stags entered a furious combat for dominance of the herd

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

truces

as in battles

an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another the fierce ideological combat between the religionists and the secularists

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of combats

Verb

Saturday’s blaze comes as the city combats a massive increase in fatal fires this year. — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 23 May 2026 This combats dynamic pricing based on your search history, which could lead to higher fares. — Christopher Elliott, Dallas Morning News, 28 Jan. 2026 The best weed-and-feed product combats the weed population in your lawn and meets the fertilizer needs of your turf. — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Apr. 2026 Mix cinnamon with warm water to create a spray that combats fungal issues and discourages pests from returning. — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 15 Mar. 2026 Aeration helps oxygen reach roots and combats the effects of compacting, but making sure your lawn continues to breathe is key to keeping it consistently green. — Nishaa Sharma, The Spruce, 17 Apr. 2026 Avoiding posts on social media is the way DePaul student Loughman combats her health anxiety. — Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2026 Regular physical activity helps reduce blood pressure, eases arthritic pain, combats chronic illness and lifts your mood. — Helen Dennis, Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026 LilyAna’s version is also packed with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E for deep penetrating hydration that combats any of the infamous drying side effects associated with the ingredient. — Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 16 June 2026

Noun

His ability to reset and stay attached combats longer, more powerful opponents. — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026 This proactive boundary setting manages stakeholder expectations, combats scope creep and forces ruthless focus on the absolute core, driving true agility over bloat. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025 Bodies in motion are intercut with a bespoke gun factory’s grinding gears; human combats are juxtaposed with VR imagery or first-person shooter games. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026 Sunday Riley Good Genes All-in-One Lactic Acid Treatment My medium skin tone is prone to dark spots, but the Sunday Riley Good Genes elixir combats scaring. — Ruby McAuliffe, InStyle, 4 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for combats

Verb

Agamemnon is the commander of the Greek army that fights the Trojan War for the recovery of Menelaus’s wife, Helen.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 July 2026
What fights an itch depends on its cause and there's a need for better treatments.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 June 2026

Definition of fights

Verb

The group, known as SSPX, celebrates the traditional Latin Mass and opposes some modern church reforms.

— Brittney Melton, NPR, 2 July 2026
Scott Charton, the spokesperson for Missourians for Fair Taxation, a campaign group that opposes Amendment 5, emphasized that the amendment had nothing to do with data centers.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026

Definition of opposes

Noun

In a White House news release listing 60 actions the administration has taken as part of its America First agenda to restrict immigration, the first four actions were decisions by the Supreme Court.

— Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Lesnick said the department would move those Arkansans to other plans without any actions required from them at the moment.

— Nathan Ansell, Arkansas Online, 6 July 2026

Definition of actions

Noun

Johnson brushes off the skirmishes, broadly speaking, as part of the governing process.

— Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 30 June 2026
While the war ended years before, the hostility spread from the stands — with skirmishes among supporters — into the field, when Maradona tricked the referee and the world with the World Cup’s most infamous goal, punching the ball into the net with his fist above England’s goalie Peter Shilton.

— Gabriel Sama, Mercury News, 21 June 2026

Definition of skirmishes

Noun

On Friday, Putin visited the Russian military headquarters directing the action in Ukraine to receive a report on the capture of the city of Kostyantynivka after weeks of intense street battles.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
Legal battles can discourage farmers Mora said the years-long litigation has left him feeling frustrated and defenseless.

— Claire Rush, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026

Definition of battles

Noun

His companies have redrawn the boundaries of multiple economic fields—the automotive industry, the aerospace sector, satellite communications—and his direct influence has helped transform the world’s most powerful government.

— Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
The magnetic pull for those whose ultimate prize is privacy and connection to nature is towards gardens, forests, fields and beachfronts that stretch into the distance, delineating possibilities.

— Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026

Definition of fields

Noun

But occasionally there can be personality clashes or people who other people on the trip find annoying.

— Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long seen clashes between security forces, insurgents and drug smugglers.

— Alex Sundby, CBS News, 30 June 2026

Definition of clashes

Noun

At a time when the news cycle seems to serve up nothing but conflict, crisis and woe, the World Cup offers shelter, a truly international event in which conflict is defined by long-term sports rivalries and questionable referee decisions.

— Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
The Golden State Warriors are reportedly looking to pair James with Stephen Curry, which would turn one of the NBA's greatest rivalries into two of the game's greatest stars fighting for their fifth title together.

— Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026

Definition of rivalries

Browse Nearby Words

combativeness

combats

combe

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Combats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combats. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of combats

verb

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on combats

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes