Relationship Conflict Vocabulary

verb to charge someone with an offense or crime

• The prosecutor will accuse the defendant of committing the crime.
• They're going to accuse him of cheating on the test.
• She's always quick to accuse others of stealing her stuff.
• Don't accuse the clouds of causing the rain.

verb to take revenge or retaliate against someone

preposition used to indicate the target of the revenge or retaliation

• She decided to get back at her coworker by reporting their unethical behavior to HR.
• I'm going to get back at my brother by hiding his phone.
• I'll get back at that jerk by spreading rumors about him.
• The storm will get back at us for not preparing properly.

noun physical injury or bodily harm

verb to cause physical pain or injury

adjective causing pain or injury

adverb in a way that causes pain or injury

• The accident caused him a great deal of hurt, both physically and emotionally.
• I hope you're okay after that fall, did you get hurt?
• I can't believe she hurt her ankle again, she's so accident-prone.
• Her words were like daggers, they cut deep and left a lasting hurt.

verb Hurting is a present participle form of the verb 'hurt', which means to cause physical or emotional pain or injury.

• The medication is meant to alleviate the hurting in your joints.
• I can tell you're hurting, do you want to talk about it?
• I heard she's been hurting since the breakup.
• His words were like daggers, cutting deep and hurting her emotionally.

noun the final irritation or problem that makes someone lose their patience or temper

• The constant lateness of the employee was the last straw for the manager.
• I can't believe she ate my leftovers again, that was the last straw!
• When he cheated on her, that was the last straw in their relationship.
• The company's decision to cut benefits was the last straw for many employees.

noun a separation or disagreement between people or groups

• The rift between the two political parties continues to widen.
• There's a huge rift between them and they don't talk anymore.
• They had a massive rift and now they're not even friends.
• The rift in their relationship was like a deep chasm that could never be bridged.