1
as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
the police broke up the fracas in the bar and threw both combatants in the lockup
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brawl
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
police preparing for any fracas that might follow the soccer game
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fracas
Following an intense midgame fracas with the Detroit Pistons on Monday, two critical Timberwolves contributors will serve out their single-game suspensions against Denver.
—
Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
There have been intense moments, big games, and even a fracas.
—Tony East, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
When adults who spotted the fracas intervened to break up the fight, a 37-year-old man was slashed in the lower back.
—Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2025
He got involved in a subway fracas that left a bad cop dead amid hints of police corruption.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fracas
Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
There have been intense moments, big games, and even a fracas.
—Tony East, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
When adults who spotted the fracas intervened to break up the fight, a 37-year-old man was slashed in the lower back.
—Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2025
He got involved in a subway fracas that left a bad cop dead amid hints of police corruption.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fracas
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fracas
Noun
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Past skirmishes with Pakistan had allowed Modi to construct a triumphalist narrative of strength that played to his domestic audience.—
Vaibhav Vats,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2025
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Türkiye has been vocal about its support for Pakistan in the wake of the border skirmishes, and India has severed ties with several of its businesses and universities.—
Jasreen Mayal Khanna,
AFAR Media,
19 May 2025
Noun
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Authorities attempted to limit the violence on the Seaside Heights boardwalk over the holiday weekend by imposing a 10 p.m. curfew on unaccompanied minors, but the brawls continued anyway, WABC reported.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
26 May 2025
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No one could agree on whether the brawl of as many as nine young men was limited to fists or if its participants were also kicking and stomping.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Trump tests legal strategies as judges block his policies As the clash becomes a defining moment in the president's second term, conservative activists are pushing Congress to rein in federal judges and pressing Trump to intensify his fight with the courts.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
26 May 2025
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The clash between Villaraigosa’s environmentalist credentials and oil-industry ties surfaced in the governor’s race after Valero announced in late April that its Bay Area refinery would close next year, not long after Phillips 66 said its Wilmington refinery would close in 2025.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2025
Noun
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Jaques said officers at 7:49 a.m. on Sunday received a complaint from a woman who reported that someone was following her vehicle while waving a gun following an altercation at a local gas station.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
27 May 2025
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Initial data provided by the department suggest that practicing the martial art not only helps boost officers' physical and mental health, but also enables cops to use less force during an arrest or altercation.—
Katja Ridderbusch,
NPR,
26 May 2025
Noun
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As a 60-person battle royale, matches can be extremely long and, in tournament play, repeat over and over for hours until a winning team can be crowned.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
20 May 2025
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Players are not exactly having a wild time battle royale-ing here, in other words.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Noun
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Even when cases of public console hacking have led to protracted legal fights—such as George Hotz's saga with the PS3 or Team Xecuter's Switch jailbreaks—console makers don't seem to have used technical means to completely disable offline functions for specific consoles.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2025
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The awards ceremony reception was being held outdoors when the fight between two adults led to the stabbing, a Fort Worth ISD spokesperson said in a statement.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 May 2025
Noun
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But as the boy and his friends exited a walkway near the schoolyard a rival not involved in the earlier dustup ran up and punched the shooter in the face.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2025
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The position dustups have also exposed Devers’ first instinct to be inwardly focused.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fracas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fracas. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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