Conflicts

Covert (conflict)

Hidden or secret

Overt (conflict)

Done or shown publicly or in an obvious way and not secret

Practitioner

Someone involved in a skilled job or activity (Elizabeth Quan is a London-based practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine)

Stakeholder

A person or group of people who own a share in a business (This is a sensitive area of great concern to many of our stakeholders)

Sportsmanship

Fair and polite behavior during sports games (Sometimes parents need to be taught about sportsmanship)

To be at each other´s throats

To be fighting or arguing very angrily (They were at each other´s throats the whole trip, I thought they´d break up)

To pick a fight/quarrel

To intentionally start a conflict or argument (He´s always picking fights with his coworkers for no reason)

To stir things up

To cause trouble or disagreement (The new manager stired things up by changing everyone´s schedules)

To come to blows/To cross swords with sb

To begin fighting or arguing (They came to blows after the meeting turned heated / She crossed swords with her boss over the budget cut)

To be looking/itching for a fight

To be ready to start a fight or argument (You could tell he was looking/itching for a fight the moment he walked in)

To have a scrap

To have a small physical fight (The kids had a scrap on the playground)

To patch up your differences

To end a disagreement and become friendly again (They patched up their differences and are friends again now)

To bury the hatchet

To agree to forget past quarrels and be friendly (After two years of rivalry, the two companies buried the hatchet)

To clear the air

To discuss openly and remove misunderstanding or tension (We had a long talk to clear the air after our argument)

Knotty (problem)

Complicated and difficult to solve

Thorny (problem)

Difficult to deal with, often used for sensitive or controversial issues

Pressing (problem)

Urgent and needing inmediate attention

Insurmountable (problem)

Impossible to overcome and gradual

Burning (issue)

Very important and urgent

Popular (unrest)

Supported by many people

Mounting (unrest)

Increasing, especially in a way that adds pressure

Renewed (unrest)

Happening again

Pent-up (anger)

Repressed, not expressed openly

Supressed (anger)

Forcibly held back or controlled

Fierce (controversy)

Intense and agressive

Raging (controversy)

Continuing with great force

Lively (controversy)

Full of anger

To advocate

To publicly support or suggest an idea, development, or way of doing something (He advocates the return of capital punishment)

Trade-off

A situation in which you accept something bad in order to have something good (For some car buyers, lack of space is an acceptable trade-off for a sporty design)

To build up

To increase or become larger or stronger (She does exercises daily to build up her strength)

To harbour

To think about or feel something, usually over a long period (We can harbour resentments in the future)

Midst

The middle of a group of people or things (The midst of a situation)

Entitlement

The feeling that you have the right to do what you want without having to work for it or deserve it, just because of who you are (A classic case of male entitlement)

Heightened

Increased

Bodily

Relating to human body (They didn't cause him any bodily harm)

Perspiration

Polite word for sweat (During the break between games, she had a drink of water and wiped the perspiration off her face and arms with a towel)

Shallow breathing

Breathing in which you only take a small amount of air into your lungs with each breath (Symptoms include rapid shallow breathing, dizziness, and nose bleeds)

To shrug off

To treat something as if it is not important or not a problem (She shrugged off the criticism and kept working)

To keep a stiff upper lip

To remain calm and not show emotion in the face of adversity (He was thought to keep a stiff upper lip, whatever happens)

To trigger

To cause something to start (Some people think that certain foods trigger their headaches)

Strong-willed

To be determined to behave in a particular way although there might be good reasons for not doing so (She's very strong-willed and if she's decided to drop out of school, nothing will stop her)

To outweigh

To be greater or more important than something else (The potential cost of confronting a conflict outweigh the benefits of its resolution)

To yield

To produce to supply or produce something positive such as a profit, an amount of food or information (An attempt to yield increased profits)

To resent

To feel angry because you have been forced to accept someone or something that you do not like (He resents having to explain his work to other people)

To defy

To refuse to obey a person, law or situation (It is rare to see children openly defying their teachers)

To flout

To intentionally not obey a law, rule (Many moto cyclists flout the law by not wearing helmets)

Demonstration

An occasion when a group of people march or stand together to show that they disagree with or support something or someone (The students are holding a demonstration against the proposed changes)

To quell

To put an end a rebellion by force (The police soon quelled the riot)

To erupt

To start suddenly and violently (At the end of a hot summer, violence erupted in the inner cities)

To trade recriminations

To accuss and blame

Cut-throat competition

A very intense and ruthless competition where individuals try to win at any cost

To spark off

To cause something to begin, usually an argument or protest (The announcements sparked off a way of criticism)

Full of reproach

Showing disapproval

To bear a grudge against someone

To continue feeling angry or resentful toward someone because of something they did (She still bears a grudge against her ex-boss for firing her)

To grasp

To quickly take something in your hands and hold it firmly, physically or mentally (She grasped his hand as he was falling)

To clasp

To hold someone or something thightly, especially during ceremonies (He clasped her hand thigthly during the ceremony)

To clutch

To hold something tightly, especially because you are frightened, in pain, or don´t want to lose it (She clutched the phone, waiting for news)

To seize

To take something quickly and firmly, often by force or with legal power (The soldier seized the gun from the attacker)

To grip

To hold something firmly, usually stable and controlled (She gripped the steering wheel tightly as the car skidded)

To cling to

To hold something or someone tightly, often with a negative connotation and it shows dependance (The babe clung to her mother)

To grab

To take hold of something suddenly or roughly (She grabbed the last slice of pizza before anyone else could)

To snatch

To take something quickly and suddenly, but in a rude way (She snatched my phone)

Tirade

A long, angry speech expressing strong disapproval (She launched into a furious tirade about how she had been unfairly treated)

To trumpet

To announce or talk about sth proudly to a lot of people (The museum has been loudly trumpeting its reputation as one of the finest)

To squander

To waste money or supplies (They'll quite happily squander a whole year's savings on two weeks in the sun)

Maligned

To be harmed due to lies (She has been much maligned by the press)

To slash

To very much reduce something, such as money or jobs (Prices have been slashed by 50%)

Rant

A long, angry and confused speech (The minister´s speech descended into a rant against his political opponents)

To defuse

To make a difficult situation calmer by reducing or removing its cause (The two groups will meet next week to try to defuse the crisis)

Impasse

A situation in which progress is impossible, especially because the people involved cannot agree (The dispute had reached an impasse, as neither side would compromise)

Volatility

The quality or state of being likely to change suddenly, especially by becoming worse (The volatility of the political situation)

To stave off

To stop something bad from happening, or to keep an unwanted situation or person away (We are hoping to stave off these difficult situations until september)

At full throttle

Done with great speed and enthusiasm

Rally

A public meeting or a large group of people, especially supporters of a particular opinion (5000 people held an anti-nuclear rally)

Embroiled

To be involved in an argument or difficult situation (The United Nations was reluctant to get its forces embroiled in civil war)

Turmoil

A state of confusion, uncertainty or disorder (The whole region is in turmoil)

Unrelenting

Extremely determined, never becoming weaker or admitting defeat (She will be remembered as an unrelenting opponent of racial discrimination)

Revolt

An attempt to get rid of the government by using violence (The army is in revolt against its commanders)

To relinquish

To give up something such as a responsibility or claim (He has relinquished his claim to the throne)

Truncheon

A thick, heavy stick used as a weapon by police officers

Seething

Extremely angry, but unable to express it clearly (The seething crowd)

To topple

To cause to fall down (The seething crowd toppled a statue of Lenin)

Keenly

Extremely or very strong (They are keenly aware that this will be their last chance to succeed)

To sneer

To talk about or look at someone or something in an unkind way that shows you do not respect or approve of him, her, or it (You may sneer, but many people like this kind of music)

Arousal

The causing of strong feelings or excitement in someone (Their success in the referendum depended on the arousal of voters´s fears)

Encroachment

The act of gradually taking away someone else´s rights, or taking cotrol of someone´s time, work, space, etc (The new censorship laws are serious encroachments on freedom of expression)

Uplifting

Making someone feel better (For me it was a marvellously uplifting performance)

Culprit

Someone who has done something wrong (Police hope the public will help them to find the culprits)

To cleanse

To make something completely clean (Cleanse the wound throughly before you bandage it)

Frisson

A sudden feeling of excitement or fear, especially when you think that something is about to happen (Do you start to feel a frisson when the first warm breezes of spring arrive?)

To go rogue

To start behaving in a way that is not normal, especially by leaving your group and doing sth dangerous (One of the circus elephants went rogue and trampled several large props)

To decouple

To separate from someone or something else (Some people hope to decouple migration policy from party politics)

To exude

To express a feeling strongly (She exudes confidence)

Indictment

A statement that critizes someone or something strongly for being bad or wrong (He made searing indictments of the Iraq war)

Setback

Something that happens that delays or prevents a process from developing (There has been a temporary setback in our plans)

To barricade

To block anyone from reaching a place (The protesting students barricades the street leading to the university)

Rumination

The act of thinking carefully and for a long period about something (I am asking about these deep ruminations which we are having about the next war)

To shut sth off

To stop the supply of sth (Did you remember to shut off the water and gas before you left the house?)

To gun sb down

To kill someone with a gun (The police officer was gunned down as he took his children to school)

To play out

When a situation happens and develops, usually in a gradual way (The debate will play out in the media over the next week or two)