litigious
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to litigation.
-
excessively or readily inclined to litigate.
a litigious person.
-
inclined to dispute or disagree; argumentative.
- Synonyms:
- quarrelsome, disputatious, contentious
adjective
-
excessively ready to go to law
-
of or relating to litigation
-
inclined to dispute or disagree
Usage
What does litigious mean? Litigious is an adjective that’s used to describe a person or organization that is prone to suing other people or companies. It typically implies that such lawsuits are frivolous or excessive. The related verb litigate means to engage in a legal proceeding, such as a lawsuit. It can mean to bring a lawsuit or to contest one. Litigate can also be used in a somewhat figurative or general way meaning to intensely dispute or argue something, as if one were a lawyer in a courtroom setting, as in It’s just a minor issue—we don’t have to litigate it over and over again. In the same way, litigious can also be used to describe someone who’s prone to arguing. A close synonym is argumentative. The tendency to be litigious is called litigiousness. Less commonly, litigious can also be used to describe anything involving litigation. Example: The megacorporation is known for being litigious—constantly firing off lawsuits as a first resort.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of litigious
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin lītigiōsus contentious, equivalent to lītigi ( um ) a quarrel ( see litigant, -ium) + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
If the haunted house staff treats you with extra care and don't subject you to the worst frights, it might not be because they like you, but because they know you're litigious: you tend to sue people. Litigious is the adjective form of litigation, the act of suing someone in court. If a person is called litigious that means they tend to sue people, maybe excessively. If you think that there are too many lawsuits, you think that a litigious culture is not good, but if you think it's important for people to demand compensation for other people's negligence, then maybe you appreciate litigious behavior.
Vocabulary lists containing litigious
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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.
It achieved this all not by shelling out on advertising, but instead by waging a series of loud, sometimes litigious campaigns for social, corporate and environmental causes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Rahm would also secure his Ryder Cup future by taking this offer, but unravelling LIV team contracts could be a fraught, expensive and litigious process.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026
He asks me to leave the specifics out of this story, given the industry’s litigious nature and the lingering trauma of this decades-old battle.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025
You are not responsible for the executor’s mismanagement of your father’s estate and you are not responsible for the legal fees incurred by your sister’s increasingly litigious behavior.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 23, 2025
In various court documents, judges described Cofield as a “con artist,” “no more than a gadfly and an exploiter of the court system,” and “the most litigious inmate in the system.”
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
