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
-
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
-
quarrelssimple
-
have quarreledperfect
-
have quarrelledperfect
-
has quarreledperfect
-
has quarrelledperfect
-
am quarrelingprogressive
-
am quarrellingprogressive
-
are quarrelingprogressive
-
are quarrellingprogressive
-
is quarrelingprogressive
-
is quarrellingprogressive
-
have been quarrelingperfect progressive
-
have been quarrellingperfect progressive
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has been quarrelingperfect progressive
-
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
As exercises in ordinary language, those analogies are difficult to quarrel with.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 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
The quarrel here isn’t over the terms of an energy contract or the routing of a pipeline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
That evening, when Hari’s baap returned home, there was a terrible quarrel in Hari’s room.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
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
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
We would say the solution starts with people power, not more academic quarrels.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2024
But there’s no pill, and our quarrels fray instead of knot, always ending in him crying and me soriy for hurting him over something he can’t help.
From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
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
Whereas Jagger and Richards were the more outspoken members and principal songwriters who famously quarreled in their heyday, the more even-keeled Watts could rock a stadium, seemingly without breaking a sweat.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
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
And if anyone quarreled or complained, he would simply tighten his lips and arrange his shoulders in the correct command posture.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
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
“A group of men who have quarrelled with the law cannot be expected to set up a government patterned after the one they antagonized.”
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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
A decade later, Demme would suffer similar strife on the set of “Beloved,” quarreling with Oprah Winfrey over aspects of characterization in the supernatural slavery epic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 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
Roy was sitting in the kitchen, quarreling with their mother.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
According to the police, "there was a tense atmosphere and some quarrelling".
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
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 told that the couple had issues and were quarrelling before," police chief Francis Wahome told AFP.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2021
The quarrelling made military cooperation between them impossible, and eventually provoked the collapse of the wider Condor network, putting paid to the campaign in Europe.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 3, 2020
“I see you and St. John have been quarrelling, Jane,” said Diana, “during your walk on the moor. But go after him; he is now lingering in the passage expecting you—he will make it up.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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