quarrel
1 Americannoun
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an angry dispute or altercation; a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations.
- Synonyms:
- fight, difference, controversy, contention, argument
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a cause of dispute, complaint, or hostile feeling.
She has no quarrel with her present salary.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a square-headed bolt or arrow, formerly used with a crossbow.
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Also a small, square or diamond-shaped pane of glass, as used in latticed windows.
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any of various tools with pyramidal heads.
noun
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an angry disagreement; argument
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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
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an arrow having a four-edged head, fired from a crossbow
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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
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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
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are quarrelingprogressive
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are quarrellingprogressive
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is quarrelingprogressive
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is quarrellingprogressive
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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
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quarreledsimple
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quarrelledsimple
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had quarreledperfect
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had quarrelledperfect
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was quarrelingprogressive
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was quarrellingprogressive
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were quarrelingprogressive
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were quarrellingprogressive
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had been quarrelingperfect progressive
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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:
Rao has dealt with a series of stress tests this year, chief among them the company’s quarrel with the Defense Department.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Maksim, eight, lists everything he has learnt in his patriotic education lessons: about great Russian poets and painters, about friendship and how not to quarrel.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
She’s not in the center of a quarrel.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
She is also in a quarrel with Erika Kirk over unsubstantiated claims of a conspiracy involving the US and Israeli governments in the killing of her husband.
From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025
He was insulting, rude, quick to start a quarrel with virtually everyone he came in contact with.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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
Ms. Wilde and Mr. Rogen’s fast-paced, zig-zagging, slightly crazy quarrels create the sense that these two people have known each other for a very long time and have a special talent for mutual aggravation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
The two preachers have previously been detained by authorities, the most recent being in January, when they were summoned by police for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 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
For the rest of that evening there were no more quarrels.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Even after the 2024 pact, Overdeck and Siegel quarreled over whether either of them breached their contracts or fiduciary duties, a fight that went into arbitration last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 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
Whenever he found two men who had quarreled and were not speaking to each other, he told them, “Stop and forget it,” and made them shake hands.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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
In 1994, Tori Amos’ U.S. video for her piano anthem “Cornflake Girl” presents a coven of quarreling young women driven through the desert in the back of a pickup truck.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2026
For much of the production, directed by George C. Wolfe, I was quibbling and quarreling with the reigning queen of Broadway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025
The quarreling threatens to undermine conservation goals because all decisions must be unanimous.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
Trampita and Torito played a game to see who spotted the most rabbits, but Papá had to stop it because they started quarreling.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
According to the police, "there was a tense atmosphere and some quarrelling".
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
If a siinqee stick is placed on the ground by a married woman between two quarrelling parties, it means the conflict must stop immediately out of respect.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2025
"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
‘We are forgetting our family history! These must be the very three that were caught by Gandalf, quarrelling over the right way to cook thirteen dwarves and one hobbit.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
