fractious

[ frak-shuhs ]

/ ˈfræk ʃəs /

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See synonyms for: fractious / fractiousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

refractory or unruly: a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness.

readily angered; peevish; irritable; quarrelsome: an incorrigibly fractious young man.

OTHER WORDS FOR fractious

1 stubborn, difficult.

2 testy, captious, petulant, snappish, pettish, waspish, touchy.

See synonyms for fractious on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of fractious

First recorded in 1715–25; fracti(on) + -ous

OTHER WORDS FROM fractious

frac·tious·ly, adverbfrac·tious·ness, nounun·frac·tious, adjectiveun·frac·tious·ly, adverb

un·frac·tious·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fractious

factious, fractious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fractious in a sentence

To suggest otherwise, especially in these fractious times, is to disserve the electoral process.
How Wisconsin’s slowed-down mail could decide the election|Bobbie Johnson|October 27, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Similarly, the more fragmented the CTV device landscape, the more fractious the CTV ad market becomes for advertisers.
‘Sleeping giant’: How Google stands to shake up the connected TV platform war|Tim Peterson|October 7, 2020|Digiday
Absent the filibuster, we would still be a uniquely fractured, fractious system.
The definitive case for ending the filibuster|Ezra Klein|October 1, 2020|Vox
There’s also a crowded, fractious GOP primary in Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District.
What To Watch For In Tennessee’s Primary|Geoffrey Skelley (geoffrey.skelley@abc.com)|August 6, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

Ten beds, and only one occupied, by a freckled, tousled quintessence of fractiousness in a blue wrapper.
Pippin; A Wandering Flame|Laura E. Richards
Perhaps this sort of fractiousness is the usual sign of approaching illness with children.
Letters of Two Brides|Honore de Balzac
"Why, I depended on seeing Mr. Oldfield," said he, with the fractiousness of a man recently ill.
Tiverton Tales|Alice Brown
That veteran lady appeared to be in a state of mind which, when it occurs in children, is called fractiousness.
The Rubicon|E. F. Benson
He feared the antagonism of the officers might be aroused, in which event we should be made to suffer for our fractiousness.
Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons|Henry Charles Mahoney

British Dictionary definitions for fractious

fractious

/ (ˈfrækʃəs) /

adjective

irritable

unruly

Derived forms of fractious

fractiously, adverbfractiousness, noun

Word Origin for fractious

C18: from (obsolete) fraction discord + -ous

usage for fractious

Fractious is sometimes wrongly used where factious is meant: this factious (not fractious) dispute has split the party still further

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fractious

OTHER WORDS FOR fractious

Origin of fractious

OTHER WORDS FROM fractious

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fractious

Words related to fractious

How to use fractious in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fractious

Derived forms of fractious

Word Origin for fractious

usage for fractious