Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of factional
Explanation
Something that's factional is broken into smaller parts. A government that's divided into opposing groups faces factional bickering that can make it hard to accomplish much of anything. Factional comes from faction and its Latin root, factionem, "political party or class of people." Your huge family might be split into factions that are bitterly divided about where to go for dinner while on vacation, with nightly factional bickering over pizza versus seafood. Any group that includes smaller, highly opinionated groups within it can be described as factional.
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.
We’re talking about an enormous bureaucratic organization with 2,000 years of weird and troubled history, whose massive internal contradictions and bitter factional disputes are only partly visible to outsiders.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
Ordained a priest in 2002, she became the first female Bishop of London in 2018, only four years after the church began allowing women bishops after years of bitter factional wrangling.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
"It wasn't just a boys' club, it was a factional group as well".
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
Ms. Machado’s acceptance by a national majority reduces uncertainty, discourages factional violence, and channels political energy toward institutional restoration instead of confrontation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025
The separation often resulted in factional fights between different ethnic groups and clans, which the companies did not effectively discourage.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
