quarrel
1 Americannoun
-
an angry dispute or altercation; a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations.
- Synonyms:
- fight, difference, controversy, contention, argument
-
a cause of dispute, complaint, or hostile feeling.
She has no quarrel with her present salary.
verb (used without object)
-
quarrels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quarreled,
past participle, past
-
quarrelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
quarreling,
present participle
-
quarrelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
a square-headed bolt or arrow, formerly used with a crossbow.
-
Also a small, square or diamond-shaped pane of glass, as used in latticed windows.
-
any of various tools with pyramidal heads.
noun
-
an angry disagreement; argument
-
a cause of disagreement or dispute; grievance
verb
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to engage in a disagreement or dispute; argue
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to find fault; complain
noun
-
an arrow having a four-edged head, fired from a crossbow
-
a small square or diamond-shaped pane of glass, usually one of many in a fixed or casement window and framed with lead
Synonym Usage
Quarrel, dissension refer to disagreement and conflict. Quarrel applies chiefly to a verbal disagreement between individuals or groups and is used with reference to a large variety of situations, from a slight and petty difference of opinion to a violent altercation: It was little more than a domestic quarrel. Their quarrel led to the barroom brawl. Dissension usually implies a profound disagreement and bitter conflict. It also applies chiefly to conflict within a group or to members of the same group: dissension within the union; dissension among the Democrats.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
quarrelsimple
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quarrelssimple
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have quarreledperfect
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have quarrelledperfect
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has quarreledperfect
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has quarrelledperfect
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am quarrelingprogressive
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am quarrellingprogressive
-
are quarrelingprogressive
-
are quarrellingprogressive
-
is quarrelingprogressive
-
is quarrellingprogressive
-
have been quarrelingperfect progressive
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have been quarrellingperfect progressive
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has been quarrelingperfect progressive
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has been quarrellingperfect progressive
Past
-
quarreledsimple
-
quarrelledsimple
-
had quarreledperfect
-
had quarrelledperfect
-
was quarrelingprogressive
-
was quarrellingprogressive
-
were quarrelingprogressive
-
were quarrellingprogressive
-
had been quarrelingperfect progressive
-
had been quarrellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quarrel1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English querele, from Old French, from Latin querēla, querella “complaint,” noun derivative of querī “to complain”
Origin of quarrel2
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English quarel, from Old French, from Medieval Latin quadrellus, diminutive of Latin quadrus “square”
Explanation
To quarrel is to fight — but usually not physically. Quarreling is a fact of life, occurring between the best of friends, in the happiest of marriages, and between parents and their children. You’re probably familiar with the verb, quarrel, meaning having a disagreement. When there’s a quarrel, there’s anger. As a noun, quarrel, refers to the square-headed arrow shot from crossbow. This meaning of the word comes from the Old French quarel, relating to "square.” If you are quarreling, just don't reach for your crossbow and quarrel.
Vocabulary lists containing quarrel
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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40 SAT words Beginning with "Q"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
There’s an assumption that the second half is Shakespeare’s, but scholars continue to quarrel over attribution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Their quarrel was not over whether Arendt belonged to that people, but over what such belonging required of judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
I had no quarrel with Cole recounting that lamentable story alongside mine, but we did have one occasional difference of emphasis.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
"Cuba has no quarrel with the United States. We do have the need and the right to protect ourself. But we are willing to sit down," Fernandez de Cossio said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
“I cant quarrel with her,” I says, “because I haven’t seen her since this morning. What does she say I’ve done now? made her go to school? That’s pretty bad,” I says.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Throughout our history, major domestic quarrels have erupted over economics: the prairie rebellion of the 1890s, the Progressive era, the New Deal.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
To avoid any quarrels, I suggest timing any stock sale, with the beneficiaries’ cooperation, so that no one inadvertently misses out on a dividend payment.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
Mr. Zipperstein suggests that the real drama was not in the bedroom but at the writing desk, where Roth’s quarrels with himself became art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
We would say the solution starts with people power, not more academic quarrels.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2024
It’s as though their quarrels were just as much my business as his, and yet I don’t dare bring it up anymore, because I’m afraid it makes him uncomfortable.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
“You’ve quarreled with everyone,” Wilde’s old friend Frank Harris once despairingly informed Douglas, adding that “you have the most imperious temper I’ve ever met.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
She added: “I knew he was unhappy at home. I wasn’t the little sweet coffee-tea-or-me wife. We quarreled a lot.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2025
“We’ve fought and quarreled for years but we’re great friends,” Hayes told the Ohio State student paper in 1986.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Some San Cristóbal residents have even quarreled with Spanish-language professors and authorities at the Canarian Language Academy who contend that this way of speaking equates to nothing more than a linguistic game.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 12, 2023
They had quarreled with their father, and rebelled against their uncle Onela, king of Sweden.
From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye
But it has quarrelled with neighbours and allies since taking power.
From Reuters ● Sep. 14, 2022
In many of these cases, passengers have quarrelled with their flight attendants over mask use.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2021
Sometimes they quarrelled, but whenever that happened they solved it by imposing a time-out.
From The Guardian ● May 9, 2020
Here, in the legendary birthplace of AI, they quarrelled over what to call their still-slumbering creation.
From Nature ● Oct. 1, 2019
At a dance held on 10 December, Tycho quarrelled with another Danish aristocrat, Manderup Parsbjerg.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Written by Mr. Carney and Peter McDonald, who also contributes a funny supporting turn as one of Rick’s band mates, it stumbles into a bog of bitterness, quarreling and unseemly behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
The quarreling threatens to undermine conservation goals because all decisions must be unanimous.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
The quarreling neighbors haven’t met in a test series in 16 years and one-day international and Twenty20 series in 10 years.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
Regardless, it still boils down to two rich guys quarreling and profiting off the public's interest in it a year after the incident that incited it.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2023
Now there was a sound of quarreling voices upstairs.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
According to the police, "there was a tense atmosphere and some quarrelling".
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
"It's not too late to repair. Stop quarrelling - now."
From Reuters ● Oct. 17, 2023
The quarrelling neighbors haven’t met in a test series in 16 years and one-day international and Twenty20 series in 10 years.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
"A blue tit is a dominant species - it tends to win in interactions and fighting for food or quarrelling for nest sites," explains Dr Lees.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2021
“I see you and St. John have been quarrelling, Jane,” said Diana, “during your walk on the moor. But go after him; he is now lingering in the passage expecting you—he will make it up.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
