BATTLED Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

battled

verb

past tense of battle

as in competed

to engage in a contest the two teams, which have long been archrivals, will battle on the court for the state championship

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in faced

to enter into contest or conflict with the two top-seeded tennis players battled each other for almost three hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in fought

to oppose (someone) in physical conflict the two armies battled each other for control of the bridge

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in opposed

to strive to reduce or eliminate we must battle hunger and poverty wherever they exist

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 battled The bullpens battled to a scoreless draw, the Dodgers’ last stand falling flat after Tucker and pinch-hitting rookie Josue De Paula drew a pair of two-out walks against Brewers closer Trevor Megill. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 Fort Worth firefighters battled for almost 18 hours after six electric SUVs were destroyed and two others damaged in a fire at a Cadillac dealership on Friday. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Oct. 2026 Senior Cam Pickett, who has battled injuries this season, caught eight passes for 134 yards including a 32-yard reception. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 11 Oct. 2026 The Vegas residency was originally scheduled to begin last February but was repeatedly postponed as the singer battled the cancer and previous bouts of bronchitis. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2026 Smoke billowed over parts of downtown Durban as firefighters battled blazes. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026 Samuel, or Samuil in Bulgarian, was a warrior emperor who battled the Byzantine Empire to expand his kingdom but was ultimately defeated and died shortly afterward in 1014. — Costas Kantouris, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026 An elderly couple charged with murdering their son-in-law, New York Times games engineer Jonathan McKinsey, battled with him over gender identity, according to court records. — Hannah Knowles, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2026 In practice gear, the 46-year-old Haslem ran with Heat players and battled with Heat frontcourt players in one-on-one post-practice drills. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for battled

Verb

Jedd Fisch inherited a Washington program in 2024 that had just competed for a national championship the season prior to his arrival, but had to replace almost 100% of the team's production from a year earlier.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Her directorial debut, Girl, competed for the Golden Lion at Venice in 2025 before earning her the Best Director award at the Busan International Film Festival.

— Ashleigh Nghiem, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of competed

Verb

The country singer also asked fans to donate to the Young Center for Immigrant Rights, which helps children whose parents have faced deportations, during the opening night of her tour in Chicago back in August.

— Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
The Cornell 7 lawsuit refers to the legal document filed by an unnamed Cornell University student who accused seven men of raping and drugging her at a frat house party in October 2024 — and faced no legal consequences.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of faced

Verb

The dispute deepens a rift between the two countries whose armies fought together against the TPLF during the 2020-2022 war.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
For three years, Bola Tinubu has fought to keep old FBI records tied to a 1990s Chicago drug probe about him sealed, hiring US lawyers to support the Justice Department in the fight.

— Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of fought

Verb

National polling from Gallup found 70% of Americans oppose a data center being built in their area, and that opposition is bipartisan — a New York Times/Siena poll this fall found roughly two-thirds opposed regardless of party.

— Kevin Williams, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
His committee was dedicated to destroying a 2024 marijuana ballot measure that DeSantis opposed.

— Liv Caputo, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of opposed

Verb

Some Democrats contended that the Justice Department greenlit the deal for political reasons, while warning that the Ellisons would steer CNN news coverage in a direction friendlier for the president.

— Ted Johnson, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
Blacknell contended that four different medical professionals treated Linton after the crash and none of them concluded the wreck was tied to a bipolar episode.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of contended

Verb

This is one of the most difficult and heartbreaking scenes our officers and investigators have ever encountered.

— Michael Sinkewicz , Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
For inspiration, Carney looks to old films, documentaries, travel and art encountered in person rather than online.

— Viv Chen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of encountered

Verb

High winds and hilly terrain complicated efforts by firefighters, who combated the blazes with firetrucks and bulldozers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 July 2026
High winds and hilly terrain complicated efforts by firefighters, who combated the blazes with fire trucks and bulldozers.

— Caroline Blumberg, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Definition of combated

Verb

In Long Beach, with less than two hours before high tide, workers on the Peninsula raced early Sunday morning to build a sand berm stretching westward from 62nd Place.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Both the men’s and women’s Chicago Marathon winners raced to victory in the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 super shoe on Sunday as the German brand continued to dominate the season.

— Katie Abel, Footwear News, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of raced

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battle cry

battled

battlefield

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Style

“Battled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/battled. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of battled

verb

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