unresolved conflict
Tension without closure
Unresolved conflict is disagreement or tension that hasn't been settled or worked through.
The phrase appears in psychology, where unresolved conflicts from childhood shape adult behavior, and in storytelling, where leaving conflict unresolved creates ambiguity or sets up sequels.
In everyday use, it describes lingering friction between people: There's still unresolved conflict between the two departments.
The term implies something incomplete—a problem that continues to fester because no one has addressed it adequately.
- tensionStretched or strained state
- bad bloodLasting hostile feelings
- resentmentPersistent bitter displeasure
- grudgePersistent resentment toward someone
- lingeringRemaining beyond expected duration
festering · old wounds · silence · silent treatment · avoidance · swept under rug · standoff · cold war · impasse · stalemate · bitterness · unspoken · simmering · estrangement · distance · awkward · walking on eggshells · elephant
- resentmentresentful, grudge, bitterness, rancor, spite
- suspensesuspense, suspenseful, tension, nail-biter, nail-biting
- TV drama tropesto be continued, plot twist, suspense, season finale, cliffhanger
unresolved conflictclosure
Sense of emotional resolution
resolution · reconciliation · peace agreement · treaty · armistice
unresolved conflictclosure
Sense of emotional resolution
resolution · finality · water under the bridge · ancient history
unresolved, conflict, resolve, resolved, resolves, resolving, resolution, resolutions, resolvable