Meaning & use
the conflict
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Meanings
nounsingular
A particular war, armed struggle, or serious disagreement that is being talked about.
Grammar: Used with 'the' to point to one specific dispute already known to the reader; the plural 'conflicts' is used for several in general.
Patterns
- the conflict in a place
- the conflict between two sides
- the conflict over something
The conflict in the region has lasted for more than a decade.
Thousands of families have fled the conflict and now live in camps.
Talks aimed at ending the conflict resumed in Geneva on Monday.
noununcountable
The state of fighting or disagreeing actively, rather than living in peace.
Grammar: No plural and no article when you mean the general idea: 'a time of conflict', not 'a time of a conflict'.
Patterns
- in conflict with someone
- a source of conflict
- resolve conflict
He is in conflict with his own party over the new law.
Poor communication is a common source of conflict at work.
The two countries have been in conflict for years.
nouncountableformal
A situation in which two things cannot both be true or cannot both happen.
Grammar: Countable here; often followed by 'between' naming the two clashing things.
Patterns
- a conflict between two things
- a conflict of interest
There is a conflict between what she promised and what she did.
The judge withdrew from the case because of a conflict of interest.
Word forms
| plural | conflicts |
|---|
Common combinations
- the conflict in (a place)
- The conflict in the north has displaced thousands of people.
- an armed conflict
- The UN called for an end to the armed conflict.
- a conflict of interest
- Selling shares to a client would be a conflict of interest.
- resolve a conflict
- Both sides met to resolve the conflict peacefully.
- in conflict with
- His actions are in conflict with company policy.
- escalate the conflict
- New attacks could escalate the conflict further.
Synonyms and how they differ
- war
- Use 'war' for large-scale fighting between countries or organized armies; 'conflict' is broader and can also mean a dispute or clash of ideas.
- dispute
- A dispute is usually a disagreement, often legal or personal, without fighting; 'conflict' suggests stronger hostility and sometimes violence.
- clash
- A clash is a short, sharp fight or argument; 'conflict' often suggests something longer and more serious.
Opposites
Word family
- conflicting adjective
- describing two things that disagree or cannot both be true
- conflict verb
- to be in opposition or disagree strongly, stressed on the second syllable
Commonly confused: the conflict or conflict (verb)?
the conflict vs conflict (verb)
The noun is stressed CON-flict, but the verb is stressed con-FLICT: 'Their stories conflict.' Spelling is the same, so the stress tells you which one it is.
Practice
The peace talks aim to end ______ that has divided the country for ten years.
Choose one answer.
'The conflict' points to one particular war already known to everyone, which fits the relative clause that follows. 'A conflict' introduces something new and vague, 'conflict' as uncountable cannot take that clause, and 'the conflicts' would wrongly suggest several separate wars.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the conflict”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.