FRAY Synonyms: 122 Similar and Opposite Words

fray 1 of 2

noun

ˈfrā

as in battle

a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective another generation of scientists entered the fray to find a cure for AIDS

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Relevance

as in skirmish

a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups a troubled youth always getting into frays at school

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

truce

as in brawl

a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people school officials broke up the fray and gave all guilty parties detention

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fray

2 of 2

verb

as in to erode

to damage or diminish by continued friction constant rubbing against the rock face has badly frayed our climbing rope

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of fray

Noun

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, 57, or Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 45, are both often mentioned as possible firm hands who could steer the party, though neither has shown much inclination to enter the fray this time round. —

Alexander Smith, NBC news, 14 May 2026 Investors have an insatiable appetite to fund the pick-and-shovel businesses underpinning data-center buildouts and Ford’s version of an AI pivot shows that even staid companies like the 122-year-old giant aren’t above the fray. —

Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 14 May 2026

Verb

The mayor’s veto eliminated a measure to reduce public hostility at a time of toxic divisions fraying the city. —

Andrew Cuomo, New York Daily News, 2 May 2026 People still were tired, tempers frayed. —

Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for fray

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fray

Noun

Decades-long legal battle The Supreme Court decision to overturn Glossip’s conviction and death sentence last year marked a major turning point in his decades-long legal battle.

— Linh Tran, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
But the frenzied redistricting battle of the past few months — including a congressional map in his home state thrown out by a court after people voted to approve it, and certain elections postponed in Louisiana and Alabama after mail ballots already went out — has done it.

— Miles Parks, NPR, 14 May 2026