1
as in battle
a forceful effort to reach a goal or objective
another generation of scientists entered the fray to find a cure for AIDS
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2
as in skirmish
a physical dispute between opposing individuals or groups
a troubled youth always getting into frays at school
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brawl
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
school officials broke up the fray and gave all guilty parties detention
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as in to erode
to damage or diminish by continued friction
constant rubbing against the rock face has badly frayed our climbing rope
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fray
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025
With the official free agency period beginning today, some more names are entering the fray, such as Cooper Kupp, who has reportedly been released after the team couldn't find a trade for the veteran receiver.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
This rug tends to fray and isn’t as durable as some other options.
—Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fray
Noun
In Gurnee, the Illinois REALTORS Fund has thrown itself into the mayoral fray, sending out glossy oversized mailers supporting O’Brien, a semi-retired Realtor and founder of an online real estate company.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025
With the official free agency period beginning today, some more names are entering the fray, such as Cooper Kupp, who has reportedly been released after the team couldn't find a trade for the veteran receiver.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Verb
Reliving Cal’s death yet again leaves me emotionally frayed.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
This rug tends to fray and isn’t as durable as some other options.
—Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fray
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fray
Noun
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Despite being a nonpartisan race, the Badger State contest served as a national proxy battle for Democratic officials and progressive groups, who are grasping at any glimmer of hope amid Trump 2.0's dominance in Washington that has expanded to other parts of the country and culture.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
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And maybe the downfall is that Lex has decided what's right between those two and which should win out, whereas Superman and Lois are in a constant battle about what is right, so they each get checked by the other.—
Mike Miller,
EW.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The clashes are a sign of growing tensions at the Lebanon-Syria border, northeast of the Beqaa valley, where predominantly Shiite Lebanese villages have seen skirmishes with Syrian soldiers in recent weeks.—
Nadeen Ebrahim,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2025
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After his skirmish with Diarra, Neal waved his arms to fire up Creighton fans in the sellout crowd.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
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What To Know The snippet of the brawl seen online does not show how the fight began.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
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The brawl kicked off between the teams during a tense second quarter on Sunday, March 30.—
Escher Walcott,
People.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Now, just as television’s role turned front-row briefing seats into prime real estate, evolving technology may erode the importance of giving those seats to television and newswire services.—
Haisten Willis,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Apr. 2025
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Chevron also challenged the costly wetlands restoration project proposed by the parish, which involved removing large amounts of contaminated soil and filling in the swaths fragmented wetlands eroded over the last century.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Her vehicle was found at her apartment, along with a bent car key, her high heels and signs of a struggle.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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Not having to make payments might be a relief to those who are experiencing any financial struggles.—
Annie Nova,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Since then, while tallies have fluctuated, the average has been around 180 clashes per day, an increase of about 30%.—
Andrew Carey and Kosta Gak,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2025
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the public clash between Musk and Navarro as an example of the administration's transparency.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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To be fair, goalies wore more modern-day uniforms in Gretzky's final seasons, and two years before Ovechkin entered the NHL, the length of goalie pads was limited to 38 inches.—
Jim Sergent,
USA Today,
5 Apr. 2025
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The clothing characters wear can be created to deftly pass on information that cannot be left to dialogue or exposition.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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In the co-main event of the fight card, Brandon Grach and Liam Talivaa face off in a heavyweight rematch.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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And now, she's won her fight to criminalize deepfakes.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
4 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fray.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fray. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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