duel
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Arranged, regular combat between two private persons, often over a matter of honor.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
doouhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈduəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Arranged, regular combat between two private persons, often over a matter of honor.
by extension
Any battle or struggle between two contending persons, forces, groups, or ideas.
Any struggle between two skillful opponents (individuals or groups)
Historically, the wager of battle (judicial combat).
verb
To engage in a battle.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Arranged, regular combat between two private persons, often over a matter of honor.
Used this way, duel is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use duel
- “In the 19th century, men often dueled over small matters.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.