sparring

基本解釋

Laura and Bernard were, by Wood’s account, a sparring but companionate couple.
按照伍德的描述，勞拉和伯納德是雖有爭吵，但基本是和睦的一對。
But already the leaders of the military campaign are sparring ahead of an election due next year.
但是這場軍事行動的領導人們卻在爭論著即將于明年舉行的大選。
In New York, for instance, while the sport’s legal status was contested for decades, fights nonetheless took place, often as “exhibitions” or sparring demonstrations.
例如在紐約，盡管拳擊的合法地位數(shù)十年間都處在爭議之中，但拳賽照樣舉辦，不過是以“拳擊表演”的名義。

Obama administration officials said they don't want to get involved in verbal sparring with North Korea but they did call its latest threats provocative and say Pyongyang stands only to further isolate itself from the world community if it follows through with them.

So, look, there will be plenty of time for the political sparring and the back-and-forth.
WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing
Sparring over line calls in tennis stopped after video replay was allowed in 2006.
ECONOMIST: Cheating in sport

If you spar with someone, you box using fairly gentle blows instead of hitting your opponent hard, either when you are training or when you want to test how quickly your opponent reacts.
an unaggressive fight
any of various minerals, such as feldspar or calcite, that are light-coloured, microcrystalline, transparent to translucent, and easily cleavable