Meaning & Definition of Conflict in English

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

• "The harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--thomas paine

• "Police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs"

2. Opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings

• "He was immobilized by conflict and indecision"

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

• "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of chickamauga"

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

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

• "His conflict of interest made him ineligible for the post"

• "A conflict of loyalties"

5. An incompatibility of dates or events

• "He noticed a conflict in the dates of the two meetings"

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

• "This form of conflict is essential to mann's writing"

7. A disagreement or argument about something important

• "He had a dispute with his wife"

• "There were irreconcilable differences"

• "The familiar conflict between republicans and democrats"

1. Be in conflict

• "The two proposals conflict!"

2. Go against, as of rules and laws

• "He ran afoul of the law"

• "This behavior conflicts with our rules"