variants
or British fracas
1
as in skirmishes
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
the police broke up the fracas in the bar and threw both combatants in the lockup
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brawls
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
police preparing for any fracas that might follow the soccer game
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fracases
Cellphone video circulating online shows Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents telling two men in Salisbury to stop recording them at a traffic stop on Monday, as well as the fracas that followed.
—
Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 7 Jan. 2026
Instead, Johnson attempted to grab the gun and Black allegedly shot at Johnson during the fracas, killing Johnson’s friend, 55-year-old James Stephens, according to court records.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
We’ve been heartened to see that a substantial number of alders has emerged from the recent city budget fracas to show resolve, self-discipline and real political chops.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Jan. 2026
The pushing and shoving continued as Bucks and Bulls players left their benches to break up the fracas.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
The fracas has also put increasing pressure on the Pentagon and embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
—semafor.com, 8 Dec. 2025
Grand Canyon got a controversial goal in the 88th minute from superstar Senegalese freshman Junior Diouf in a classic smash-and-grab victory followed by a heated fracas at midfield between the teams.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025
For all of these camps, the fracas at Alpha Genesis offered a new occasion to denounce the waste of taxpayer dollars on unseemly animal experiments.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov, standing behind Hagel, took exception and gave Hagel a forceful cross-check in the back, sending him lunging forward and drawing both teams into a fracas in the corner of the ice.
—Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fracases
Noun
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Hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced from their homes in both countries when border skirmishes broke out for the second time this year.—
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For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817-kilometer (508-mile) land border – a dispute that has occasionally exploded into skirmishes and fighting.—
Noun
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Investigators aren't saying if there's a connection between Henderson's death and brawls at the bar.—
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The plastic whistles and the car horns and the street brawls and the neighborhoods emptying into streets — the whole communities playing immovable rock to unstoppable federal force.—
Noun
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The investigation into the killing of a US citizen by an ICE agent in Minneapolis this week is being complicated by clashes between federal and local officials, with the FBI taking control over the objections of Governor Tim Walz.—
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The powerful Sun clashes with Chiron by way of your chatter quadrant and your habit zone, encouraging you to address a tricky situation at work or in your neighborhood with courageous calm.—
Noun
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No arrests, detentions or altercations with police were reported.—
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Loud sounds of rioters and altercations with Capitol Police could be heard clearly.—
Noun
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According to reports, there were fights in the snake-like queue that formed.—
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Town budgets, school boards, zoning fights, shoreline resilience — these are problems that punish purity.—
Noun
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The facility, which is surrounded by the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve, also has led to separate legal battles in federal court.—
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Soon the scene devolved into individual battles between officers and rioters.—
Cite this Entry
“Fracases.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fracases. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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