BUTTED HEADS Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

butted heads

phrase

past tense of butt heads

as in bickered

to express different opinions about something often angrily Our boss tries not to schedule Rosie and Mark for the same shifts, since the two often butt heads.

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of butted heads As local and county officials butted heads over how to address the historic deficit, disagreements over how to avoid insolvency grew into an increasingly public power struggle. — Chaewon Chung august 16, Sacbee.com, 16 Aug. 2026 Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis butted heads on the first film. — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2026 Acclivus also butted heads with former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration over CVI funding — a feud that Regan readily noted. — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026 However, the pair has also butted heads in the past with their respective styles. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026 Ron Howard recalled working with John Wayne on 1976 film The Shootist, where the veteran actor butted heads with director Don Siegel. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026 In the final embers of the match, Haaland and Gabriel literally butted heads, the latter appearing to shove his brow into that of his opponent. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 5 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for butted heads

locked horns

Phrase

There is no indication that organization locked horns with the city over its findings.

— Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026
When the paper’s management locked horns with workers during the 2024 strike, many staffers saw the use of AI to cut costs or counter labor actions as a betrayal of these principles.

— Milad Jalalian Ebrahimi, The Conversation, 29 July 2026

Definition of locked horns

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butted

butted heads

butted in

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“Butted heads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butted%20heads. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of butted heads

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