CONFLICT

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does conflict mean? 

• CONFLICT (noun)
  The noun CONFLICT has 7 senses:

1. an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

2. opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings

3. a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

4. a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests

5. an incompatibility of dates or events

6. opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot)

7. a disagreement or argument about something important

  Familiarity information: CONFLICT used as a noun is common.

• CONFLICT (verb)
  The verb CONFLICT has 2 senses:

1. be in conflict

2. go against, as of rules and laws

  Familiarity information: CONFLICT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONFLICT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

battle; conflict; struggle

Context example:

police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs

Hypernyms ("conflict" is a kind of...):

group action (action taken by a group of people)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conflict"):

tug-of-war (any hard struggle between equally matched groups)

war; warfare (an active struggle between competing entities)

feud (a bitter quarrel between two parties)

combat; fight; fighting; scrap (the act of fighting; any contest or struggle)

turf war (a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights)

strife (bitter conflict; heated often violent dissension)

counterinsurgency; pacification (actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency)

insurrection; rebellion; revolt; rising; uprising (organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another)

class struggle; class war; class warfare (conflict between social or economic classes (especially between the capitalist and proletariat classes))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Context example:

he was immobilized by conflict and indecision

Hypernyms ("conflict" is a kind of...):

ambivalence; ambivalency (mixed feelings or emotions)

Derivation:

conflict (be in conflict)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

battle; conflict; engagement; fight

Context example:

he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement

Hypernyms ("conflict" is a kind of...):

action; military action (a military engagement)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conflict"):

pitched battle (a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place)

naval battle (a pitched battle between naval fleets)

armed combat; combat (an engagement fought between two military forces)

dogfight (an aerial engagement between fighter planes)

assault (close fighting during the culmination of a military attack)

Armageddon (any catastrophically destructive battle)

Instance hyponyms:

Battle of Britain (the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it)

Drogheda (in 1649 the place was captured by Oliver Cromwell, who massacred the Catholic inhabitants)

Holonyms ("conflict" is a part of...):

war; warfare (the waging of armed conflict against an enemy)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

a conflict of loyalties

Hypernyms ("conflict" is a kind of...):

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conflict"):

clash; friction (a state of conflict between persons)

clash (a state of conflict between colors)

disagreement; dissension; dissonance (a conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters)

Derivation:

conflict (go against, as of rules and laws)

conflict (be in conflict)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An incompatibility of dates or events

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

he noticed a conflict in the dates of the two meetings

Hypernyms ("conflict" is a kind of...):

incompatibility (the quality of being unable to exist or work in congenial combination)

Derivation:

conflict (be in conflict)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Context example:

this form of conflict is essential to Mann's writing

Hypernyms ("conflict" is a kind of...):

oppositeness; opposition (the relation between opposed entities)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A disagreement or argument about something important

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

conflict; difference; difference of opinion; dispute

Context example:

the familiar conflict between Republicans and Democrats

Hypernyms ("conflict" is a kind of...):

disagreement (the speech act of disagreeing or arguing or disputing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conflict"):

collision (a conflict of opposed ideas or attitudes or goals)

arguing; argument; contention; contestation; controversy; disceptation; disputation; tilt (a contentious speech act; a dispute where there is strong disagreement)

gap (a difference (especially an unfortunate difference) between two opinions or two views or two situations)

dustup; quarrel; row; run-in; words; wrangle (an angry dispute)

• CONFLICT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they conflict ... he / she / it conflicts
Past simple: conflicted   
Past participle: conflicted   
-ing form: conflicting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be in conflict

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

The two proposals conflict!

Hypernyms (to "conflict" is one way to...):

contrast; counterpoint (to show differences when compared; be different)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "conflict"):

clash; collide; jar (be incompatible; be or come into conflict)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

conflict (an incompatibility of dates or events)

conflict (opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings)

conflict (a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Go against, as of rules and laws

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

conflict; contravene; infringe; run afoul

Context example:

This behavior conflicts with our rules

Hypernyms (to "conflict" is one way to...):

breach; break; go against; infract; offend; transgress; violate (act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

conflict (a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests)

 Context examples 

For years, astronomers have puzzled over a massive star lodged deep in the Milky Way that shows conflicting signs of being extremely old and extremely young.

(NASA Team Probes Peculiar Age-Defying Star, NASA)

Other issues include land conflicts, woodcutting, and economic activities taking place within the region.

(Brazilian savanna unprotected, study finds, Agência Brasil)

However, the long-term impact of carbohydrate restriction on mortality is controversial with prospective research so far producing conflicting results.

(Moderate Carbohydrate Intake May be Best for Health, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Previous studies of these nutrients as a treatment for male infertility have produced conflicting results.

(Zinc, folic acid supplement does not improve male fertility, National Institutes of Health)

The WHO report recommends making the environments for adolescents safer, especially if they live in areas already stressed by conflict, poverty or crime.

(Half of mental health disorders arise in adolescence, SciDev.Net)

Sixteen countries, including areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, witnessed a decrease, and 39 countries, including the U.S., stayed the same.

(Study: Earth’s Night Skies Getting Brighter, VOA)

This new moon is mixed, and you may have an unexpected incident involving a friend that may upset you, for Uranus will conflict with the Sun and new moon.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This research probes how elements of reproductive conflict can evolve into permanent reproductive cooperation in spite of their costs, said George Gilchrist, acting deputy director of the NSF Division of Environmental Biology.

(For species that mate for life, bonding behaviors provide advantages, National Science Foundation)

What instances must pass before them of ardent, disinterested, self-denying attachment, of heroism, fortitude, patience, resignation: of all the conflicts and all the sacrifices that ennoble us most.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

The same study reveals, for the first time, that couple conflict helps explain emotional problems in very young children.

(Prenatal parental stress linked to behaviour problems in toddlers, University of Cambridge)