donnybrook
Free-for-all fight
A donnybrook is a wild brawl or free-for-all fight, often chaotic and involving multiple participants: The town hall meeting devolved into a donnybrook.
The word comes from Donnybrook Fair, an annual event near Dublin notorious for drunken fighting.
It can also describe any heated, disorderly dispute: The budget negotiations turned into a political donnybrook.
Hand-to-hand combat
- scuffleBrief disorderly struggle
- altercationHeated verbal dispute
- fracasNoisy disorderly fight
- skirmishBrief, limited combat
tussle · affray · punch-up · bust-up · fistfight · slugfest · roughhouse · scrap
State of utter confusion
- bedlamState of wild disorder
- mayhemViolent disorder and destruction
- tumultNoisy, chaotic disturbance
- uproarNoisy public disturbance
turmoil · commotion · hullabaloo · brouhaha · ruckus · hubbub · clamor · din
Disordered group skirmish
- mob sceneChaotic crowd situation
- civil unrestPublic disturbance by citizens
- disturbanceDisruption of order
- public disorderDisturbance of communal peace
pitched battle · insurrection · uprising · rebellion · mutiny · revolt · agitation · unrest
Reasoned case or dispute
- quarrelAngry verbal dispute
- feudBitter ongoing rivalry
- wrangleArgue or herd livestock
- squabbleTrivial noisy argument
row · spat · tiff · verbal sparring · heated exchange · war of words · shouting match · slanging match
Contest to settle scores
- showdownDecisive final confrontation
- battle royaleMulti-combatant elimination contest
- shootoutArmed confrontation or tiebreaker
- dogfightClose combat between aircraft
war of attrition · no-holds-barred · winner-take-all · cage match
fisticuffs
Hand-to-hand combat
- scuffleBrief disorderly struggle
- altercationHeated verbal dispute
- fracasNoisy disorderly fight
skirmish · tussle · affray · punch-up · bust-up · fistfight · slugfest · roughhouse · scrap · dustup
pandemonium
State of utter confusion
uproar · turmoil · commotion · hullabaloo · brouhaha · ruckus · hubbub · clamor · din · racket
melee
Disordered group skirmish
- mob sceneChaotic crowd situation
- civil unrestPublic disturbance by citizens
- disturbanceDisruption of order
public disorder · pitched battle · insurrection · uprising · rebellion · mutiny · revolt · agitation · unrest · clashes
argument
Reasoned case or dispute
squabble · row · spat · tiff · verbal sparring · heated exchange · war of words · shouting match · slanging match · disagreement
grudge match
Contest to settle scores
- showdownDecisive final confrontation
- battle royaleMulti-combatant elimination contest
- shootoutArmed confrontation or tiebreaker
dogfight · war of attrition · no-holds-barred · winner-take-all · cage match
- commotioncommotion, clamor, brouhaha, bedlam, hullabaloo
- fightsfight, brawl, scuffle, scrap, tussle
- fistfightspunch, jab, uppercut, haymaker, right hook
- Irish Slangcraic, eejit, gobshite, banjaxed, slagging
- clashesconflict, confrontation, collision, fight, battle
- conflictsargument, fight, war, battle, dispute