faction
1 Americannoun
-
a group or clique within a larger group, party, government, organization, or the like, typically having different opinions and interests than the larger group.
a faction in favor of big business; rival factions within the company.
-
party strife and intrigue; dissension.
an era of faction and treason.
- Synonyms:
- friction, split, schism, disagreement, discord
noun
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a form of writing or filmmaking that treats real people or events as if they were fictional or uses them as an integral part of a fictional account.
-
a novel, film, play, or other presentation in this form.
noun
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a group of people forming a minority within a larger body, esp a dissentious group
-
strife or dissension within a group
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of faction1
First recorded in 1500–10; < Latin factiōn- (stem of factiō ) “a doing, company, division,” equivalent to fact(us) “done, made” ( see fact) + -iōn- -ion
Origin of faction2
Explanation
Fractions are smaller parts of whole numbers: one-quarter, one-tenth, one-half, and a faction is a smaller portion of a larger group that breaks away from it. A faction might take a fraction of the people from a large group and start a new group. The Latin source of the word faction means to "do" or "make," though a faction can seem to be a taking away or un-doing. Politics is one area where faction gets a lot of use, because a political party often starts with a large group but has some members who disagree with a belief or direction. These members separate from the larger party and become a faction of their own, with many of the same beliefs as the original group but with a few new differences, too.
Vocabulary lists containing faction
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Animal Farm
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Grade 11, List 1
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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.
The administration has similarly appealed to a rump faction of isolationists to no good effect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a breakaway faction of researchers from OpenAI who were concerned about the pace of AI development.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
His faction eventually lost control of the chapel.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
In November 2025, a faction of the party, which observers say represented the majority of members, held a contentious national convention in Ibadan, Oyo state, despite court orders attempting to stop it.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Sana can convince him. She’s not leader of her faction for nothing.”
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
