conflict
Definitions
A serious disagreement, struggle, or armed clash between opposing sides.
冲突；争执；（武装）对抗。
A situation in which incompatible aims, demands, or principles cannot all be satisfied at once.
（目标、利益、原则之间的）矛盾，抵触。
To be incompatible or at odds with something else; to clash.
（与某事物）相抵触，不一致，冲突。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedcon- (together) + flict (strike) = "to strike together." Picture two forces slamming into each other head-on. When the forces are armies or interests, the result is a clash — a conflict (n.). When the colliding things are facts, plans, or dates that can't both hold, they conflict (v.) — they're incompatible.
Root flict still carries 4 more wordsUsage Guide
- Stress shift: the noun is CON-flict (stress on the first syllable: a clash, a dispute), the verb is con-FLICT (stress on the second: to be incompatible). This noun/verb stress pattern is the same as CON-tract/con-TRACT and OB-ject/ob-JECT.
- Noun, armed sense (news/politics): armed conflict, regional conflict, escalate the conflict.
- Noun, abstract sense (formal): conflict of interest, conflict between work and family, internal conflict.
- Verb (neutral): The meeting conflicts with my dentist appointment. Often "conflict with."
- Note: as a verb it is rarely about fighting — it means simply "to clash / not fit together," especially of schedules, facts, or rules.
Example Sentences
- 1.
The region has been torn apart by years of armed conflict.
- 2.
She left the board to avoid a clear conflict of interest.
- 3.
Unfortunately, the new schedule conflicts with my evening class.
- 4.
His account of events conflicts with what the witnesses said.
Easily Confused
conflict vs dispute — A dispute is a specific argument or disagreement, usually verbal and resolvable through talk (a contract dispute, a border dispute). A conflict is broader and deeper — it can be violent (armed conflict) or internal (a moral conflict), and often implies a clash of fundamental interests, not just words. A dispute can be one episode of a larger conflict.
Synonym Comparison
- conflict — the broadest: any clash of forces, from war to inner turmoil to schedule clashes
- dispute — a specific, often verbal disagreement, frequently formal or legal
- clash — a sudden, sharp collision, often physical or visual (a clash of colors, police clash)
- friction — low-level, ongoing tension between people, short of open conflict
- strife — literary/formal, prolonged bitter conflict, often within a group (civil strife)