fractious

adjective

frac·​tious ˈfrak-shəs 

1

: tending to be troublesome : unruly

a fractious crowd

2

: quarrelsome, irritable

a fractious political campaign

fractiously adverb

fractiousness noun

Did you know?

The Latin verb frangere means "to break or shatter" and is related to a few common words, which is evident in their meanings. Dishes that are fragile break easily. A person whose health is easily broken might be described as frail. A fraction is one of the many pieces into which a whole can be broken. But fraction also once meant "disharmony" or "discord"—that is, a "rupture in relations." From this noun sense came the adjective fractious.

Examples of fractious in a Sentence

The fractious crowd grew violent.

Recent Examples on the Web

The panthéonisation took place at a fractious political moment, three days after the resignation of Sébastien Lecornu, France’s fourth Prime Minister in thirteen months. —Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026

Lawyers for Meta and Google argued Kaley’s struggles were the result of her fractious home life and fallout from the COVID pandemic, not social media. —Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026

As a Shiite-majority nation, Iran has long held fractious and even hostile relationships with Sunni jihadist actors. —Jacob Ware, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2026

As a Shiite-majority nation, Iran has long held fractious and even hostile relationships with Sunni jihadist actors. —Jacob Ware, Boston Herald, 20 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

fract(ion) (in sense "rupture, discord, breach of the peace") + -ious (after captious, factious)

First Known Use

1714, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fractious

• factious

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