BRAWL


Meaning of BRAWL in English

I. ˈbrȯl verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English brawlen; perhaps akin to Dutch & Low German brallen to brag

intransitive verb

1. : to quarrel usually noisily : wrangle violently

when statesmen brawled with each other outrageously — American Guide Series: Texas

2. : to complain loudly : raise a clamor

mobs brawling about unfair rationing of food

3. : to make a loud confused noise (as of water of a rapid stream running over stones)

the Miami river … brawled over 25 feet of rapids in the North Fork — Marjory S. Douglas

transitive verb

1. obsolete : to call down violently : revile

2. : to shout (as orders) in a loud often hoarse voice

sergeants brawling out commands

3. archaic : to force or drive by shouting or reviling

II. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English, from brawlen, v.

1.

a. : a loud, angry, or disorderly quarrel

a brawl between husband and wife that kept the whole neighborhood awake

b.

(1) : a rough noisy and often prolonged hand-to-hand fight

a barroom brawl

(2) slang : a social affair : dance , party ; especially : a drinking party

she always tosses a perfectly savage brawl for all the … students — A.O.Myrer

2. : a loud tumultuous noise

the spring run became quite a trout brook and its tiny murmur a loud brawl — John Burroughs

Synonyms:

broil , riot , fracas , melee , row , rumpus , scrap : brawl indicates a noisy fight or quarrel with racket, recrimination, hurly-burly, and angry blows

a howling brawl amongst vicious hoodlums — Jean Stafford

the settlers in the river towns shivered excitedly at the uproar of the loggers' drunken brawls, the shattering of the tavern's glassware — American Guide Series: Minnesota

broil indicates a disordered, confused turmoil, conflict, or fight without clear issues or demarcation between contestants

but village mirth breeds contests, broils, and blows — P.B.Shelley

plunging us in all the broils of the European nations — Thomas Jefferson

riot may indicate a turbulent tumultuous uproar participated in by a number of persons with violent action breaking civil peace

the draft riots in Civil War days

angered supporters of both teams swarmed out of the stands and the game turned into a riot

fracas may apply to an excited disturbance or noisy quarrel, with or without blows

cowboys hurt in a gambling fracas — Laura Krey

melee suggests a swirling unclear series of hand-to-hand conflicts or something similar

in such a melee, of course, no chronicler could be very clear, and the more active of the knights are much confused — E.V.Lucas

in 1934, 8000 lettuce pickers struck; when the police attempted to break up picket lines, the resultant melee in which blood was shed made headlines — American Guide Series: California

row applies to any noisy demonstration or fight; rumpus may intensify suggestions of disturbance and commotion; scrap indicates a fight, often inconsequential, or a noisy sharp quarrel

a crockery-smashing family row — Edward Sackville-West & Desmond Shawe-Taylor

but the row went a good deal deeper than a mere squabble in the children's schoolroom — Alan Moorehead

such a rumpus that everybody in the neighborhood took sides — L.C.Douglas

a bare-knuckled political scrap — New Republic

III.

variant of branle

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.