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conflict

conflict

236 3.0
An inner struggle between different feelings or desires
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒnflɪkt/
translation icon : conflicto interno
  • As an artist, have you ever felt strong conflict between the art and the money?
  • internal conflict
  • role conflict
  • identity conflict

This kind of inner conflict and outer conflict are necessary for growth.

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Examples

  • The novel explores the protagonist's internal conflict between her ambitions and her family's expectations.

  • And so naturally, you've got this wonderful personal conflict between these two people.

  • And so it can really cause a conflict within some women, right?

  • There is always a conflict between honor and duty.

  • But some conflict is normal in a marriage.

  • This kind of inner conflict and outer conflict are necessary for growth.

  • It's about when there is conflict before you react, pray about it.

  • My moral duty was not in conflict or even in tension with my legal duty.

    Academic text (2008)
  • So there's some internal conflict going on.

  • My therapist says that I avoid conflict even when it doesn't belong to me.

Synonyms

inner struggle
vsconflict
1 5.7

A fight inside a person's mind about what they feel or believe

is a neutral term for opposition within a person rather than a personal difficulty
confliction
vsconflict
1 7.6

An inner struggle between opposing beliefs or desires

is expressed as a general opposition between feelings or attitudes
dividedness
vsconflict
7.2

A feeling of strong conflict inside a person about two different loyalties

applies only to opposition inside one person, not group situations

Antonyms

146 2.5

Agreement and peaceful working together between people or ideas

Compounds

83 1.9

A situation when someone has two interests that could affect their decisions

A time when two planned events happen at the same time so you cannot attend both

conflict zone
  • Literature
4 4.3

An area where soldiers or armed groups are fighting

A civil war in southeastern Nigeria from 1967 to 1970 when Biafra tried to break away and become independent

Donbas conflict
  • Literature
8.1

An armed conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014 between Ukrainian forces and fighters backed by Russia

8.3

A violent fight between armed groups that are not part of the official army

4.2

A field of study that looks at why people fight and how to make peace

How Intense

crisis
3.1
turmoil
138 4.8
conflict
236 3.0
unease
19 4.4
ambivalence
30 7.8

Surface Forms

conflict singular
conflicts plural

Morphology

conflict = con + flict

Although historically analyzable as con- + -flict, 'flict' is not a standalone English word, so the internal-psychological meaning is not transparently built from the parts for typical learners.

Etymology

Conflict comes from Latin parts con- 'together' and fligere 'to strike', like two feelings 'striking' one another inside a person. So an internal conflict is when different desires or values clash inside your mind.