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

Relevance

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
  • But the movement has widened to include workers demanding relief from rising living costs, making the government’s task broader than resolving a dispute over university admissions.
    — Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Debt, the deficit and high interest rates limit the government’s ability to increase spending and foreshadow disputes over how to fund campaign promises without jeopardizing social programs.
    — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of dispute
Noun
  • Several callers reported that multiple individuals were involved in the altercation as well as a possible weapon.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The police chief told reporters the shooting likely stemmed from an altercation between two to three individuals and that the department’s Violent Crimes Unit would lead the ongoing investigation.
    — Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of altercation
Noun
  • When a quarrel over an inheritance revives old hostilities, their relationship comes under pressure from greed and treachery in a conflict not of their making.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Aly’s quarrel begins with a name; Luna’s arrives at the rank implied by father.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of quarrel
Noun
  • The incumbent senator accused his critics of lying about the controversy before acknowledging that his office sent patients with unpaid bills to collections.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
  • His season, which aired from September to November of that year, was plagued with controversy when Owens made headlines for comments about his dating age requirements before the show filmed.
    — Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of controversy
Noun
  • The film follows Jiwa, a father who sacrifices everything in a fight to save Juna, his son, who has blood cancer.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The confrontation escalated into a fight that left both tourists injured.
    — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of fight
Noun
  • South Korean officials have said North Korea's recent border activities have highlighted the Koreas' disagreement over exactly where the military demarcation line lies.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Both blame each other for the fiery fights, with Lago saying that disagreements between commissioners used to be more civil before Castro and Commissioner Ariel Fernandez were elected in 2023.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of disagreement
Noun
  • The Brookings paper makes the same argument in academic terms.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Both local governments filed their briefs to the Supreme Court this week, emphasizing their arguments that the bans are lawful because the AR-15 and similar weapons are not ordinary firearms.
    — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of argument
Noun
  • Brazil's federal police leadership is also at stake, as competing Supreme Court decisions this week removed and then reinstated its director-general, also as part of the cross fire between justices.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of cross fire

Browse Nearby Words

battler
battle royal
battlers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Battle royal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/battle%20royal. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on battle royal

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about battle royal

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All