quarrel
1 Americannoun
-
an angry dispute or altercation; a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations.
- Synonyms:
- fight, difference, controversy, contention, argument
-
a cause of dispute, complaint, or hostile feeling.
She has no quarrel with her present salary.
verb (used without object)
-
quarrels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quarreled,
past participle, past
-
quarrelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
quarreling,
present participle
-
quarrelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
a square-headed bolt or arrow, formerly used with a crossbow.
-
Also a small, square or diamond-shaped pane of glass, as used in latticed windows.
-
any of various tools with pyramidal heads.
noun
-
an angry disagreement; argument
-
a cause of disagreement or dispute; grievance
verb
-
to engage in a disagreement or dispute; argue
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to find fault; complain
noun
-
an arrow having a four-edged head, fired from a crossbow
-
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
-
quarrelsimple
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quarrelssimple
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have quarreledperfect
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have quarrelledperfect
-
has quarreledperfect
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has quarrelledperfect
-
am quarrelingprogressive
-
am quarrellingprogressive
-
are quarrelingprogressive
-
are quarrellingprogressive
-
is quarrelingprogressive
-
is quarrellingprogressive
-
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
-
quarreledsimple
-
quarrelledsimple
-
had quarreledperfect
-
had quarrelledperfect
-
was quarrelingprogressive
-
was quarrellingprogressive
-
were quarrelingprogressive
-
were quarrellingprogressive
-
had been quarrelingperfect progressive
-
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:
There’s an assumption that the second half is Shakespeare’s, but scholars continue to quarrel over attribution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
United by necessity, the men hold opposing views on humankind, and their ongoing quarrel gives the movie a ruminative foundation that sets it apart from the usual action-first studio feature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
"Cuba has no quarrel with the United States. We do have the need and the right to protect ourself. But we are willing to sit down," Fernandez de Cossio said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 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
“As far as you know, was there any quarrel or bad blood between your master and M. MacQueen?”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
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
Mr. Zipperstein suggests that the real drama was not in the bedroom but at the writing desk, where Roth’s quarrels with himself became art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
A revised order was issued and the list of countries affected kept changing; there were intergovernmental quarrels along with protests from U.S. allies in the Muslim world.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2024
Labels got torn off and mixed, and quarrels broke out.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
“You’ve quarreled with everyone,” Wilde’s old friend Frank Harris once despairingly informed Douglas, adding that “you have the most imperious temper I’ve ever met.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
He and journalist Joy Reid publicly quarreled following her exit last year from MSNBC.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026
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
Neighbors said he often quarreled with other residents in various apartment buildings he lived in near Tokyo.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
I seem to remember that small cities in ancient Greece quarreled bitterly over which was the birthplace of Homer.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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
Even in late middle age, the sisters quarrelled over what kind of hospital care their mother should receive.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 26, 2020
Here, in the legendary birthplace of AI, they quarrelled over what to call their still-slumbering creation.
From Nature ● Oct. 1, 2019
They had quarrelled as soon as Lamorak was dead, or rather, as soon as they had found time to realize what had happened.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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
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
They checked in on each other when they were sick, met each other’s families and spent long hours debating, quarreling and compromising in the fight against global warming.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
The quarreling neighbors haven’t met in a test series in 16 years and one-day international and Twenty20 series in 10 years.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
Mama asked her more than once when Dede set to quarreling about something.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
According to the police, "there was a tense atmosphere and some quarrelling".
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays - including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman and dad Denis Leary.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025
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
"He wanted to vent. We learned from his mother that on the day of the incident he was quarrelling with his wife," local police chief Chakkraphat Wichitvaidya told Reuters.
From Reuters ● Oct. 7, 2022
As usual they were quarrelling, and being of different breeds they used the Common Speech after their fashion.
From "The Return of the King" 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.
