as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
several chairs were knocked over in the scuffle
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
she scuffled along in shoes that were much too large for her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to wrestle
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery
the burglar and the homeowner briefly scuffled together in the dark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scuffle
Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Robinson then grabbed Daniels around the neck and walked him several feet until a brief scuffle ensued between the two teams.
—Devon Henderson, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
That pretty much tells the whole story right there, and with the offense scuffling out of the gate the club hasn’t been able to fight back whenever the starter gets chased early.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Noun
Tens of thousands of people joined marches across the country, including in Paris, where brief scuffles with police broke out.
—Sylvie Corbet, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Robinson then grabbed Daniels around the neck and walked him several feet until a brief scuffle ensued between the two teams.
—Devon Henderson, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Verb
The return of Soto should help the Mets’ scuffling offense.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
That pretty much tells the whole story right there, and with the offense scuffling out of the gate the club hasn’t been able to fight back whenever the starter gets chased early.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scuffle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scuffle
Noun
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Forbes was taken down by then-Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay in the skirmish.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
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Here are some photos from the second of three skirmishes in this always entertaining Show Me State clash.—
Jeff Rosen,
Kansas City Star,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Women in America’s boardrooms made strides as corporations shuffled their mostly White and male lineups in the face of the historic pushback in 2020.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
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Tall soldiers in bearskin caps shuffled a few inches to the left, or right, to give the parade its proper visual proportions.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Fortunately the wig has had a second outing with Fouracres donning it again in Episode 7, when his parody Attenborough turned up to wrestle a discontented rhino during Weekend Update.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
15 May 2026
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The renowned Federalist Papers of the late 1780s, 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, wrestled with this exact debate.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
Noun
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But Giants-Rams might have the greatest blowout potential of these 17 Monday night clashes.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
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Here are some photos from the second of three skirmishes in this always entertaining Show Me State clash.—
Jeff Rosen,
Kansas City Star,
16 May 2026
Verb
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In other words, voters didn’t accidentally stumble into supporting term limits.—
Jovani Patterson,
Baltimore Sun,
16 May 2026
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The Bucs gave up nearly 26 points per game in the final two months of the season while stumbling to a 2-7 finish.—
John Romano,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 May 2026
Verb
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The Steelers will likely win around 10 games and once again be fighting into the final weeks of the season for a playoff berth.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
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The Warsh view A concern with Miran's approach is that, if the Fed keeps looking through supply shocks, markets and the public will doubt its inflation-fighting credibility.—
Matt Peterson,Steve Liesman,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Verb
-
Grgich stomped grapes at age 3.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
15 May 2026
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International researchers have officially identified Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis, a massive dinosaur that has stomped its way into the record books as the largest ever found in Southeast Asia.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scuffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scuffle. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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