20 English Verbs for Conflict Everyday Speech Avoids
Tensions in daily life often demand more than basic verbs of fighting or winning. Retaliate names a specific act of revenge for a perceived wrong, while circumvent describes the act of surrounding an opponent to force a surrender. Outsmart captures victory achieved purely through cleverness and wit, distinguishing strategic intelligence from brute force.
Every word on this list can be added to Memorabit, which sends reminders at unexpected moments of the day. The complete list of verbs appears below.
| Word | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| retaliate | take revenge for a perceived wrong | We need to retaliate.Tatoeba #10495500 by CM |
| wrestle | combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force | Do you still wrestle?Tatoeba #6814354 by CK |
| repulse | force or drive back | His work adds long descriptions of rotting corpses to nauseate and repulse.Tatoeba #13361025 by DylanTonic |
| vie | compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others | He said: "C'est la vie"!Tatoeba #2265194 by DiePain |
| outdo | be or do something to a greater degree | He desires to outdo them.Tatoeba #12668153 by anzart |
| confront | oppose, as in hostility or a competition | I didn't confront him.Tatoeba #3918742 by CH |
| rout | cause to flee | The enemy's rout gave us a decisive victory.Tatoeba #12659724 by rul |
| invade | march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation | They're hesitating to invade.Tatoeba #12121057 by Amastan |
| vanquish | come out better in a competition, race, or conflict | We must vanquish our foes.Tatoeba #5922011 by mailohilohi |
| defuse | remove the triggering device from | Can you defuse the bomb?Tatoeba #9423212 by CK |
| overtake | catch up with and possibly overtake | I don't dare overtake.Tatoeba #10303435 by sundown |
| equalize | compensate; make the score equal | It is time not only to equalize men's and women's wages, but also to equalize responsibility for housework.Tatoeba #241929 by papabear |
| outperform | be or do something to a greater degree | Algeria can outperform its neighbors economically.Tatoeba #10105149 by Amastan |
| triumph | prove superior | This was a triumph!Tatoeba #1370528 by GLaDOS |
| circumvent | surround so as to force to give up | The troops had to circumvent the entire forest.Tatoeba #10892439 by megamanenm |
| overpower | overcome by superior force | Lorenzo didn't try to overpower that man.Tatoeba #11709615 by Amastan |
| revoke | fail to follow suit when able and required to do so | We don't think they have the ability to revoke your privileges.Tatoeba #6994489 by AlanF_US |
| avenge | take revenge for a perceived wrong | Now we avenge the dead.Tatoeba #8177408 by abburns |
| ambush | wait in hiding to attack | It was an ambush.Tatoeba #3724219 by CM |
| outsmart | beat through cleverness and wit | You cannot outsmart destiny.Tatoeba #5614893 by joshodude_1308 |