conflict

Noun

conflict (countable and uncountable, plural conflicts)

1. A clash or disagreement, often violent, between two or more opposing groups or individuals.
   • The conflict between the government and the rebels began three years ago.
   • One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools[…]as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1
2. An incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled.
   • I wanted to attend the meeting but there's a conflict in my schedule that day.
3. in fiction/literature, opposing forces that create uncertainty as to whether the character(s) will achieve their goal(s).

Verb

IPA/kənˈflɪkt/US/kənˈflɪkt/

conflict (third-person singular simple present conflicts, present participle conflicting, simple past and past participle conflicted)

1. (intransitive) To be at odds (with); to disagree or be incompatible
   • [T. E.] Lawrence said that in the end he felt himself to be fighting not for the imperial British but for the rebellious Arabs. All too often he conflicted with British bureaucratic fustiness.2014 March 2, Jan Morris, “Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson, review: A skilful account of T. E. Lawrence and his role in the...
2. (intransitive) To overlap (with), as in a schedule.
   • Your conference call conflicts with my older one: please reschedule.
   • It appears that our schedules conflict.