brawl [brawl] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin noun
- a noisy quarrel, squabble, or fight.
- a bubbling or roaring noise; a clamor.
- Slang. a large, noisy party.
verb (used without object)
- to quarrel angrily and noisily; wrangle.
- to make a bubbling or roaring noise, as water flowing over a rocky bed.
Origin of brawl 1350–1400; (v.) Middle English brawlen, brallen to raise a clamor, quarrel, boast; of uncertain origin; (noun) Middle English braule, brall, derivative of the nounRelated formsbrawl·er, nounbrawl·y, adjectiveout·brawl, verb (used with object)un·brawl·ing, adjectiveSynonyms for brawl 1. wrangle, row, tumult, affray, altercation, rumpus. 4. squabble, fight, bicker, row.Synonym study 1. See disorder. Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Related Words for brawling squabble, clash, riot, argument, ruckus, scuffle, fight, feud, melee, wrangle, altercation, fracas, uproar, battle, dispute, free-for-all, quarrel, bickering, tussle, bicker Examples from the Web for brawling Contemporary Examples of brawling
These groups are known for brawling, attacking public figures, and various hate crimes.
Ukraine’s President Wowed Congress, But His Party Has a Dark Side
Anna Nemtsova
September 19, 2014
He looks nothing like the brawling, expansive prince of before.
Can America’s Favorite Ex-Con Mayor Win Again?
David Freedlander
June 22, 2014
For nose-pulling and brawling we have substituted ritual apologies.
Stefan Beck
February 9, 2014
Kit took a job cleaning houses and fell for a big, brawling man named Newt McPherson.
Newt Gingrich’s Bipolar Mother Kit Gingrich and His Difficult Childhood
Gail Sheehy
December 22, 2011
Mitchell especially disdained women artists, talented or not, whom she deemed insufficiently macho, boozing, and brawling.
May 29, 2011
Historical Examples of brawling
It was Imogen with whom he wandered beside the brawling rill.
William Godwin
And there was more than a little thievery and brawling and rioting.
Everett B. Cole
I assured him that Maxwell was a quiet Oxford scholar, and incapable of brawling.
Howard Pease
So, Baron, you think a Parliament in Russia would be merely a place for brawling.
Oscar Wilde
Please not into the roaring, brawling taverns where life thrives in all its abundance.
Frank Banta
British Dictionary definitions for brawling brawl 1 noun
- a loud disagreement or fight
- US slang an uproarious party
verb (intr)
- to quarrel or fight noisily; squabble
- (esp of water) to flow noisily
Derived Formsbrawler, nounbrawling, noun, adjectiveWord Origin for brawl C14: probably related to Dutch brallen to boast, behave aggressively brawl 2 noun
- a dance: the English version of the branle
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for brawling brawl v.
late 14c., braulen “to cry out, scold, quarrel,” probably related to Dutch brallen “to boast,” or from French brailler “to shout noisily,” frequentative of braire “to bray” (see bray (v.)). Meaning “quarrel, wrangle, squabble” is from early 15c. Related: Brawled; brawling.
brawl n.
mid-15c., from brawl (v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper