n.

1. an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals);
   struggle, battle
   
   • the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs
2. opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings
   
   • he was immobilized by conflict and indecision
3. a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war;
   battle, fight, engagement
   
   • Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga
   • he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement
4. a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests
   
   • his conflict of interest made him ineligible for the post
   • a conflict of loyalties
5. an incompatibility of dates or events
   
   • he noticed a conflict in the dates of the two meetings
6. opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot)
   
   • this form of conflict is essential to Mann's writing
7. a disagreement or argument about something important;
   dispute, difference, difference of opinion
   
   • he had a dispute with his wife
   • there were irreconcilable differences
   • the familiar conflict between Republicans and Democrats

v.

1. be in conflict
   
   • The two proposals conflict!
2. go against, as of rules and laws;
   run afoul, infringe, contravene
   
   • He ran afoul of the law
   • This behavior conflicts with our rules