Synonyms for strife
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Discord — bitter conflict, sometimes violent
discord, struggle, conflict, dissension, war, feud, animosity, riot, quarrel, bickering, contention, controversy, altercation, warfare, fighting, disagreement, wrangle, competition, contestation, contest, difference, variance
Definitions
- n. 1
Bitter conflict, sometimes violent.
Related words
- Word family
- strive
Forms
- Plural
- strifes → discords, struggles, conflicts, dissensions…
Choose the right word
A quarrel is in word or act, or both, and is commonly slight and transient, as we speak of childish quarrels; contention and strife may be in word or deed; contest ordinarily involves some form of action. Contest is often used in a good sense, contention and strife very rarely so.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- conflict Your behavior is in conflict with your principles.
- struggle For Sami, not dwelling on the past was a struggle.
- discord He sows discord by raising controversial subjects.
- dissension On the religious side, the decision caused serious dissension among followers.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| strife | steady | |
| conflict | rising | |
| struggle | steady | |
| discord | steady | |
| dissension | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- war1
- 4 letters
- riot2, feud1
- 7 letters
- contest2, warfare2, discord2, quarrel2, wrangle2
- 8 letters
- fighting2, struggle2, conflict2, variance3
- 9 letters
- animosity5, bickering3
- 10 letters
- difference3, contention3, dissension3
- 11 letters
- competition4, controversy4, altercation4
- 12 letters
- disagreement4, contestation
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (riot2 = 2 syllables).