Fighting — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective noun verb /ˈfī-tiŋ/ fight·ing

Meaning & Definition of Fighting

Fighting (adjective)

  1. designed, intended, or trained to fight in combat
  2. fit to fight
  3. having or showing a readiness to fight, aggressive

Fighting (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in battling, warring

    similar: battling, warring, savage, vicious, acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, stroppy (British), surly, testy, touchy, ugly, waspish, antagonistic, fierce, hostile, hot-tempered, aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, contentious, discordant, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike
    opposite: nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious, anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike, affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable, calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, tranquil, benign, gentle, kindly, mild

Fighting (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in combat, warfare

    similar: combat, warfare, action, battle, engagement, skirmish, civil war, cold war, holy war, limited war, police action, world war, conflagration, conflict, hostilities, hot war, war
    opposite: peace, demilitarization, demobilization, disarmament, pacification, ceasefire, truce, calm, peacefulness, tranquility

Fighting (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to oppose (someone) in physical conflict

    "a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland"

    similar: battling, clashing (with), combating, scrimmaging (with), skirmishing (with), warring (against)
    related: dueling, jousting, banging, bashing, battering, batting, beating, belting, bludgeoning, bopping, buffeting, clobbering, hammering, hitting, knocking, pasting, pounding, punching, slamming, slapping, slogging, slugging, smacking, smiting, socking, striking, swatting, swiping, thumping, thwacking, walloping, whacking, whaling, boxing, sparring, brawling, grappling, scuffling, tussling, wrestling, bumping, colliding
    near: giving up, submitting, surrendering

  2. to strive to reduce or eliminate

    "a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice"

    similar: battling, combating, contending (with), countering, opposing, oppugning
    related: baffling, checkmating, foiling, frustrating, resisting, thwarting, withstanding, confronting, defying, facing, meeting
    opposite: advancing, cultivating, encouraging, forwarding, fostering, furthering, nourishing, nurturing, promoting
    near: abiding, bearing, enduring, suffering, advocating, backing, championing, endorsing, supporting, upholding

  3. to engage in a contest

    "everyone on that street seems to be fighting to see who can create the gaudiest holiday lighting display"

    similar: battling, competing, contending, facing off, racing, rivaling, vying
    related: challenging, engaging, playing, jockeying, jostling, maneuvering, going out, trying out, training, working

  4. to express different opinions about something often angrily

    "if you kids continue to fight, I'm turning this car around and we're heading back home!"

    similar: altercating, argufying, arguing, bickering, brabbling, brawling, controverting, disputing, falling out, hassling, jarring, quarreling, quibbling, rowing, scrapping, spatting, squabbling, tiffing, wrangling, bandying words, butting heads, locking horns, mixing it up
    related: challenging, daring, defying, clashing, contending, contesting, tangling, caviling, fussing, nitpicking, considering, debating, discussing, kicking, objecting, protesting
    near: coexisting, getting along, accepting, agreeing, assenting, concurring, consenting

  5. to refuse to give in to

    "I tried to fight the temptation to eat another cookie—and lost"

    similar: bucking, defying, opposing, repelling, resisting, withstanding
    related: battling, combating, contending (with), challenging, contesting, contradicting, disputing, baffling, balking, foiling, frustrating, thwarting, checking, countering, hindering, obstructing, stemming
    opposite: bowing (to), capitulating (to), giving in (to), knuckling under (to), stooping (to), submitting (to), succumbing (to), surrendering (to), yielding (to)

Related Entry: Fight (verb)

Fight is a different word from Fighting. The synonyms below are for fight, not for fighting.

  1. to oppose (someone) in physical conflict

    "a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland"

    similar: battle, clash (with), combat, scrimmage (with), skirmish (with), war (against)
    related: duel, joust, bang, bash, bat, batter, beat, belt, bludgeon, bop, buffet, clobber, hammer, hit, knock, paste, pound, punch, slam, slap, slog, slug, smack, smite, sock, strike, swat, swipe, thump, thwack, wallop, whack, whale, box, spar, brawl, grapple, scuffle, tussle, wrestle, bump, collide
    near: give up, submit, surrender

  2. to strive to reduce or eliminate

    "a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice"

    similar: battle, combat, contend (with), counter, oppose, oppugn
    related: baffle, checkmate, foil, frustrate, resist, thwart, withstand, confront, defy, face, meet
    opposite: advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote
    near: abide, bear, endure, suffer, advocate, back, champion, endorse, support, uphold

  3. to engage in a contest

    "everyone on that street seems to be fighting to see who can create the gaudiest holiday lighting display"

    similar: battle, compete, contend, face off, race, rival, vie
    related: challenge, engage, play, jockey, jostle, maneuver, go out, try out, train, work

  4. to express different opinions about something often angrily

    "if you kids continue to fight, I'm turning this car around and we're heading back home!"

    similar: altercate, argue, argufy, bicker, brabble, brawl, controvert, dispute, fall out, hassle, jar, quarrel, quibble, row, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle, bandy words, butt heads, lock horns, mix it up
    related: challenge, dare, defy, clash, contend, contest, tangle, cavil, fuss, nitpick, consider, debate, discuss, kick, object, protest
    near: coexist, get along, accept, agree, assent, concur, consent

  5. to refuse to give in to

    "I tried to fight the temptation to eat another cookie—and lost"

    similar: buck, defy, oppose, repel, resist, withstand
    related: battle, combat, contend (with), challenge, contest, contradict, dispute, baffle, balk, foil, frustrate, thwart, check, counter, hinder, obstruct, stem
    opposite: bow (to), capitulate (to), give in (to), knuckle under (to), stoop (to), submit (to), succumb (to), surrender (to), yield (to)

Related Entry: Fighting shy of (phrase)

Fighting shy of is a different word from Fighting. The synonyms below are for fighting shy of, not for fighting.

  1. to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery

    "They'd always managed to fight shy of legal recourse."

    similar: avoiding, dodging, ducking, eluding, escaping, eschewing, evading, finessing, getting around, scaping, shaking, shirking, shuffling (out of), shunning, weaseling (out of), keeping clear of, staying clear of, steering clear of
    related: missing, averting, deflecting, diverting, obviating, parrying, preventing, warding (off), banning, barring, debarring, eliminating, excepting, excluding, precluding, ruling out, bypassing, circumventing, skirting, foiling, foxing, frustrating, outfoxing, outsmarting, outwitting, overreaching, thwarting
    near: accepting, courting, embracing, pursuing, seeking, welcoming, catching, contracting, incurring

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Fighting

The most common words with a similar meaning to Fighting:

British: stroppy
battling, warring, savage, vicious, acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, surly, testy, touchy, ugly, waspish, antagonistic, fierce

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Fighting

Words with the opposite meaning of Fighting:

nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious, anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike, affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable, calm

Related Words for Fighting

dueling, jousting, banging, bashing, battering, batting, beating, belting, bludgeoning, bopping, buffeting, clobbering, hammering, hitting, knocking, pasting, pounding, punching, slamming, slapping, slogging, slugging, smacking, smiting, socking, striking, swatting, swiping, thumping, thwacking

Near Antonyms of Fighting

giving up, submitting, surrendering, abiding, bearing, enduring, suffering, advocating, backing, championing, endorsing, supporting, upholding, coexisting, getting along, accepting, agreeing, assenting, concurring, consenting

Origin & Etymology of Fighting

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Fighting

Words & Phrases Containing Fighting

fighting chair, fighting chance, fighting word, Siamese fighting fish

Frequently Asked Questions about Fighting

What does "Fighting" mean?

"Fighting" means designed, intended, or trained to fight in combat. As an an adjective, a noun and a verb, it is defined as: designed, intended, or trained to fight in combat. It has 7 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Fighting"?

Other words for "Fighting" include battling, warring, savage, vicious, acidic, bearish, bilious and bristly. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Fighting" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Fighting"?

There are 202 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Fighting". Common alternatives include battling, warring, savage, vicious, acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric and crabby.

What is the opposite of "Fighting"?

Antonyms of "Fighting" include nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative and uncontentious. Near antonyms include giving up, submitting, surrendering and abiding.

How do you use "Fighting" in a sentence?

Examples of "Fighting" in a sentence: "a proud people who have fiercely fought all invaders of their homeland"; "a civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting prejudice"; "everyone on that street seems to be fighting to see who can create the gaudiest holiday lighting display".

Is "Fighting" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Fighting" can be used as an adjective, a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Fighting" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a B1-level word, "Fighting" is typical of Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET), IELTS band 4.0–5.0, TOEFL iBT 42–71, PTE Academic 43–58, TOEIC Listening & Reading 550+.

How do you pronounce "Fighting"?

"Fighting" is pronounced /ˈfī-tiŋ/ and divided into syllables as fight·ing.