Conflicting
adjectiveIncompatible or at odds, so that the things in question cannot both be true, accepted, or satisfied at once.
How to spell conflicting
11 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce conflicting
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does conflicting mean?
- adjectiveIncompatible or at odds, so that the things in question cannot both be true, accepted, or satisfied at once.
Conflicting in a sentence
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The two witnesses gave conflicting accounts of the accident.
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She had conflicting priorities at work and at home that week.
Where does conflicting come from?
Language of origin: Latin
This word goes back to the Latin verb confligere, which meant 'to strike together' or 'to clash', formed from con- meaning 'together' and fligere meaning 'to strike or dash'. The past participle conflictus gave English the noun 'conflict', recorded from the early 1400s in the sense of an armed clash or struggle. The verb 'to conflict', meaning to be incompatible or at odds, developed soon after, and 'conflicting' is its present participle used as an adjective for things that cannot both be true or both be satisfied. The same fligere root, the idea of striking, also lies behind 'afflict' and 'inflict', so the family all carries a sense of being struck or dashed against something. Remembering that the core is flict, a single c followed by t, helps avoid doubling errors in the middle of the word.
How the word is built
- con- (together)
- flict (from Latin fligere: to strike)
- -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)
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