battle royal

noun

-rȯi-ˈal How to pronounce battle royal (audio)
Definition of battle royalnext
as in dispute
an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions the sisters had a battle royal over whose turn it was to use the family car

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of battle royal The second came when Uso won a battle royal on Raw last fall and earned the right to face CM Punk for the then-vacant World Heavyweight Championship. — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026 Another year, another round in the battle royal for streaming licenses. — Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026 During the battle royal last week, Uso eliminated his brother Jimmy, who had been saving him throughout the match. — Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025 Pearce announced that a battle royal would take place later in the night. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for battle royal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for battle royal
  1. dispute
  2. altercation
  3. quarrel
  4. controversy
  5. fight
  6. disagreement
  7. argument
  8. cross fire
Noun
  • The planned center for arbitrating investment and commercial disputes, for example, will sit within the Syrian Investment Authority, which is itself attached to the presidency.
    — Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Adair died in jail following a dispute with deputies, including Fatherley, who knelt on his back.
    — Sofi Zeman August 31, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of dispute
Noun
  • The Honda continues down the street and crashes into a parked car, as Good’s wife, Becca Good, who was recording the altercation, runs after it.
    — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Detectives found that Spencer was involved in an altercation with a man inside the library before the stabbing.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of altercation
Noun
  • Look, says everyone, at the movement of the heavens, look at the public, look at that man’s quarrel, at this man’s pulse, at another man’s will; in short, always look high or low, or to one side, or in front, or behind you.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The Department of Defense’s quarrel with Anthropic began earlier this year after the company refused to remove internal safety guardrails that would prevent the military from using its Claude AI model in autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.
    — Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of quarrel
Noun
  • Although the allegations became a significant controversy surrounding his political career, higher courts later invalidated key evidence in the investigation, and the criminal complaint against him was rejected in 2022.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The vote came without debate on the Assembly floor, despite previous controversy over the changes as the bill moved through the Senate.
    — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of controversy
Noun
  • Mayer had some early success with her jab, but Cameron increasingly took control as the fight progressed and landed the cleaner punches before hurting Mayer with a right hand in the eighth round.
    — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Metchie was very much on the bubble of the 53-man roster, and he was outperformed by his peers, even if not by much in this rock-fight of a contest.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of fight
Noun
  • Big picture The league and the union are meeting regularly on various topics, but their disagreement on core economics — whether to move to a cap system — leaves little room for progress on the major issues.
    — Evan Drellich, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • What the disagreement was about Auditors for the city of Atlanta said the transit agency overcharged for enhanced bus service and owed the city $70 million from a fund to pay for new MARTA projects.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of disagreement
Noun
  • This turns into a big argument about Issa being a weird little guy, and suddenly there are multiple potential roommate schisms in the house.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Computer science emerged as a distinct academic discipline in the following decades, when the research traditions of math and engineering came together, and arguments about the nature of the new field soon followed.
    — Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of argument
Noun
  • During the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, tanker ships caught in the cross fire ended up at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, which scared off potential customers.
    — Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Unfortunately, the older teens (including Louise’s nemesis, Logan) have taken over the area for snowball fights, and the younger kids get caught in the cross fire.
    — Lillian Brown, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of cross fire

Browse Nearby Words

battler
battle royal
battlers
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Cite this Entry

“Battle royal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/battle%20royal. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on battle royal

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about battle royal

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