sparring
noun/ˈspɑːɹɪŋ/
1
The act of one who spars.
- Albeit he is under the influence of the magic juice, Lysander's words to Hermia — once he has switched his romantic allegiance to Helena — are bitter, cruel. At times Benedick and Beatrice's verbal sparrings drip with an acidity that smarts.2010, Kenneth Tucker, Shakespeare and Jungian Typology: A Reading of the Plays, page 48: