fractious

adjective

frac·tious ˈfrak-shəs

Synonyms of fractious

: tending to be troublesome : unruly

a fractious crowd

: quarrelsome, irritable

a fractious political campaign

fractiously adverb

fractiousness noun

Did you know?

The Latin verb frangere means "to break or shatter" and is related to a few common words, which is evident in their meanings. Dishes that are fragile break easily. A person whose health is easily broken might be described as frail. A fraction is one of the many pieces into which a whole can be broken. But fraction also once meant "disharmony" or "discord"—that is, a "rupture in relations." From this noun sense came the adjective fractious.

Examples of fractious in a Sentence

The fractious crowd grew violent.

Recent Examples on the Web

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Wilders announced his decision early Tuesday in a message on X after a brief meeting in parliament of leaders of the four parties that make up the fractious administration. —Graham Underwood, Arkansas Online, 4 June 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Lee takes office with a rare advantage in South Korea’s often fractious political system: a unified government. —Ian Bremmer, Time, 3 June 2025 The Ukrainian president is seeking to frame Putin as the key impediment to a peace deal, as Kyiv navigates a fractious bilateral relationship with President Donald Trump's administration. —Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, ABC News, 31 May 2025 Conversely, plenty of Republicans inside and outside Trump’s orbit have tired of the downsides of dealing with the fractious businessman. —Niall Stanage, The Hill, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for fractious