Adjacent Words

Strife definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STRIFE, n. [See Strive.]
1. Exertion or contention for superiority; contest of emulation, either by intellectual or physical efforts. Strife may be carried on between students or between mechanics.
Thus Gods contended, noble strife, who most should ease the wants of life.
2. Contention in anger or enmity; contest; struggle for victory; quarrel or war.
I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon. Judges 12.
These vows thus granted, raisd a strife above betwixt the god of war and queen of love.
3. Opposition; contrariety; contrast.
Artificial strife lives in these touches livelier than life.
4. The agitation produced by different qualities; as the strife of acid and alkali. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: lack of agreement or harmony [syn: discord, strife]
2: bitter conflict; heated often violent dissension

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English strif, from Anglo-French estrif, estri, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch striden to fight, Old High German str?tan to quarrel — more at stride Date: 13th century 1. a. bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension <political strife> b. an act of contention ; fight, struggle 2. exertion or contention for superiority 3. archaic earnest endeavor Synonyms: see discord • strifeless adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 conflict; struggle between opposed persons or things. 2 Austral. colloq. trouble of any kind. Etymology: ME f. OF estrif: cf. OF estriver STRIVE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Strife Strife, n. [OF. estrif. See Strive.] 1. The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [Archaic] --Shak. 2. Exertion or contention for superiority; contest of emulation, either by intellectual or physical efforts. Doting about questions and strifes of words. --1 Tim. vi. 4. Thus gods contended -- noble strife - Who most should ease the wants of life. --Congreve. 3. Altercation; violent contention; fight; battle. Twenty of them fought in this black strife. --Shak. These vows, thus granted, raised a strife above Betwixt the god of war and queen of love. --Dryden. 4. That which is contended against; occasion of contest. [Obs.] ``Lamenting her unlucky strife.'' --Spenser. Syn: Contest; struggle; quarrel. See Contention.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Strife is strong disagreement or fighting. (FORMAL) Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages... = conflict

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Contention, contest, conflict, struggle, quarrel, discord. 2. Contrariety, opposition, disagreement. 3. Emulation, competition.

Moby Thesaurus

Kilkenny cats, altercation, animosity, antagonism, arguing, argument, bad blood, bicker, bickering, blood feud, brawl, broil, cat-and-dog life, combat, competition, conflict, contention, contentiousness, contest, contestation, controversy, cut and thrust, debate, difference, disagreement, discord, disharmony, disputation, dispute, dissension, donnybrook, donnybrook fair, embroilment, enmity, feud, fight, fighting, fliting, fracas, friction, fuss, hard feelings, hatred, hostility, ill will, imbroglio, litigation, logomachy, open quarrel, paper war, polemic, quarrel, quarreling, quarrelsomeness, rivalry, scrapping, sharp words, slanging match, snarl, spat, squabble, squabbling, struggle, tiff, tussle, unfriendliness, vendetta, war, war of words, warfare, words, wrangle, wrangling