sparring

[spahr-ing] / ˈspɑr ɪŋ /

ADJECTIVE

fighting

Synonyms

STRONG

battling belligerent boxing brawling contending determined fencing hostile jousting martial militant skirmishing tilting warmongering wrestling

WEAK

angry argumentative bellicose combative contentious disputatious disputative ferocious hawkish jingoistic militaristic pugnacious quarrelsome ready to fight resolute scrappy truculent unbeatable under arms up in arms

Antonyms

STRONG

kind nice peaceful

WEAK

peaceloving

NOUN

boxing

Synonyms

STRONG

battle mill prelim prizefighting pugilism slugfest

WEAK

glove game the ring

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Cuban heavyweight Frank Sanchez and American puncher Jared Anderson are also sparring partners.

From BBC

Mat and Chris are sparring over Mat’s insistence that he will marry Anna.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sure enough, my PB&J comes out of the bag looking like a sumo wrestler used it as a sparring partner.

From Literature

The boxer is a sparring partner for Marian, who works out her aggression in the ring.

From Los Angeles Times

Now, the two companies are sparring in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.

From The Wall Street Journal