fight

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. battle, affray, brawl, quarrel; contest, struggle; pugnacity. Slang, scrap. See contention, irascibility, resolution.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A violent struggle]

Syn. strife, conflict, contention, feud, quarrel, contest, struggle, encounter, row, dispute, disagreement, battle, battle royal, confrontation, controversy, brawl, affray, affair, fray, bout, match, fisticuffs, boxing match, round, broil, fracas, difficulty, altercation, bickering, wrangling, riot, argument, dissension, debate, competition, sparring match, a coming to blows, rivalry, skirmish, scrimmage, clash, scuffle, collision, brush, action, engagement, melee, passage of arms, sortie, pitched battle, tilt, joust, combat, duel, exchange of blows, wrestling match, squabble, game, discord, estrangement, hostilities, imbroglio, disturbance, recontre (French), tiff, difference of opinion, falling-out, fuss*, mix-up*, tussle*, scrap*, free-for-all*, ruckus*, run-in*, showdown*, flare-up*, go*, rumpus*, donnybrook*, set-to*, rhubarb*, hassle*; see also dispute .

2. [Willingness or eagerness to fight]

Syn. belligerence, pugnacity, mettle, hardihood; see aggression 2 , courage 1 .

Syn.- fight , a rather general word for any contest, struggle, or quarrel, stresses physical or hand-to-hand combat; conflict , which may apply to anything from armed fighting to mental struggle, refers to a sharp disagreement or clash, as between opposing groups, interests, or ideas, and emphasizes difficulty of resolution [ the conflict over slavery ] ; struggle implies Great effort or violent exertion, physical or otherwise [ the struggle for existence ] ; contention most frequently applies to heated verbal strife, or dispute [ religious contention] ; contest refers to a struggle, either friendly or hostile, for supremacy in some matter [ athletic contests , a contest of wits ] v.

1. [To struggle for an end]

Syn. carry on, strive, struggle, persevere, persist, push forward, support, uphold, lobby for, labor, work, exert oneself, travail, hammer away, toil on, take pains, spare no effort, fight one's way, put up a fight.

Ant. stop*, give up, quit.

2. [To engage in an encounter]

Syn. battle, contend, clash, strive, war, struggle, combat, contest, oppose, resist, protest, challenge, confront, meet, attack, argue, quarrel, feud, engage in hostilities, go to war, wage war, take up arms, withstand, do battle, give battle, cross swords, exchange shots, exchange blows, come to blows, engage in fisticuffs, brawl, scuffle, encounter, bear arms against, tussle, grapple, brush with, have a brush with, collide, engage with, close with, wrestle, box, spar, measure swords with, skirmish, wrangle, bicker, squabble, dispute, row, bandy with, have it out, duel, joust, tilt, compete, vie, join issue, assert oneself, enter the lists, take up the gauntlet, set to, fight the good fight, fight to the last ditch, tangle*, pitch into*, tear into*, take on all comers*, pick a bone with*, take the field*, scrap*, mix it up with*, hassle*, lock horns*, go to the mat*, make the fur fly*, go at it tooth and nail*, duke it out*.

Ant. retreat*, submit, yield.

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

battle, combat, clash, brawl, wrangle, bout, war, *scrap, fray, skirmish, encounter, scuffle, tussle, row, *fisticuffs, rumble, *free-for-all, donnybrook, altercation, set-to, dispute.

II

v.

1. physically combat battle, clash, brawl, wrangle, war, skirmish, rumble, contest, wrestle, altercate, assault, spar, box, *mix it up, *lock horns, tussle, *exchange blows, *slug it out, *go at it tooth and nail.

2. oppose by argument argue, contradict, dispute, contest, defy, *make a stand against, squabble, resist, protest, repulse, bicker.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To engage in a quarrel: argue, bicker, contend, dispute, quarrel, quibble, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle. Informal: hassle, tangle. Idioms: cross swords, have it out, have words, lock horns. See CONFLICT. 2. To strive in opposition: battle, combat, contend, duel, struggle, tilt, war, wrestle. See CONFLICT. II noun 1. A physical conflict involving two or more: fistfight, fisticuffs, scrap2, scuffle, tussle. Slang: rumble. See CONFLICT. 2. A discussion, often heated, in which a difference of opinion is expressed: altercation, argument, bicker, clash, contention, controversy, debate, difficulty, disagreement, dispute, polemic, quarrel, run-in, spat, squabble, tiff, word (used in plural), wrangle. Informal: hassle, rhubarb, tangle. See CONFLICT. 3. The power or will to fight: bellicoseness, bellicosity, belligerence, belligerency, combativeness, contentiousness, pugnaciousness, pugnacity, truculence, trucu-lency. See CONFLICT.