Conflicted

How to spell conflicted

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce conflicted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does conflicted mean?

1. adjectiveTorn between competing feelings, loyalties, or choices.
2. verbPast tense of conflict: clashed or was incompatible with something else.

Conflicted in a sentence

• adjective

  She felt deeply conflicted about accepting the promotion in another city.

• verb

  The meeting conflicted with my dentist appointment, so I had to reschedule.

• adjective

  He remained conflicted over whether to sell the family house.

• verb

  His account of the evening conflicted with the security footage.

Where does conflicted come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin verb confligere, meaning 'to strike together' or 'to clash', formed from com- 'together' and fligere 'to strike or dash'. The past participle conflictus gave English the noun and verb 'conflict' in the late Middle Ages, originally describing literal physical combat or a violent clashing of forces. Over time the sense softened from armed fighting to any opposition of ideas, interests, or scheduled events. The modern adjective 'conflicted', describing a person torn between competing feelings or loyalties, is a relatively recent extension that became common in the twentieth century. The same fligere root, meaning 'to strike', also lurks inside 'afflict', 'inflict', and 'profligate', which helps fix the single c and single f in the spelling.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• flict (root: strike, from Latin fligere)
• -ed (past/adjective suffix)