ROUGH-AND-TUMBLES Synonyms: 37 Similar Words

rough-and-tumbles

noun

plural of rough-and-tumble

as in brawls

a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people a rough-and-tumble broke out among the fans in the stands

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-tumbles

Noun

My childhood school in Denmark hadn’t been turned to rubble but into an emotional battlefield, a psychological groundhog’s day of explosive arguments, violent brawls—and brief, fragile truces that always shattered when the home bell rung.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
There are brawls over policy that lead to lawsuits, but the main drama is the 2023 school board election, where the Democrats hoped to reverse the Republicans’ 6-3 majority.

— Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of brawls

Noun

Those clashes came as social unrest has set Europe's streets ablaze from France and Italy to Spain and Portugal, fueled by youth frustration over the state of public education, social services and the high cost of housing.

— JOVANA GEC, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
The presidency said the military deployment began the day after the clashes.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of clashes

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.

Browse Nearby Words

rough-and-tumble

rough-and-tumbles

roughed

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Rough-and-tumbles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-tumbles. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of rough-and-tumbles

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

reticent

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes