faction

1 of 2

noun

fac·​tion ˈfak-shən 

1

: a party or group (as within a government) that is often contentious or self-seeking : clique

The committee soon split into factions.

2

: party spirit especially when marked by dissension

faction, or the irreconcilable conflict of parties

—Ernest Barker

factional

ˈfak-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

factionalism

ˈfak-sh(ə-)nə-ˌli-zəm 

noun

factionally

ˈfak-sh(ə-)nəl-ē 

adverb

-faction

2 of 2

noun combining form

: making : -fication

petrifaction

Synonyms

Noun

• party
• side
• wing
• sect
• coalition
• team
• bloc

Examples of faction in a Sentence

Noun

The committee soon split into factions.

several factions within the environmental movement have joined forces to save this wilderness area

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

An escape plan is hatched, leading to a breaking of factions, betrayals, and a shocking confrontation. —Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

There were other worries at the conference about what issue, or which faction, might wreck the project. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025

These comments come as factions of the GOP have fought to dampen the heat from this issue since July. —Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2025

Evolution was key to survival StarCraft is all about three core factions. —Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French faccion, borrowed from Latin factiōn-, factiō "act of making, social set, band, group, self-seeking political group," from facere "to make, bring about, place, classify" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at fact

Note: A doublet of faction is fashion entry 1, from the Gallo-Romance outcome of Latin factiō, which maintains only the meaning "act of making," sparsely attested outside of early Latin except in legal use.

Noun combining form

borrowed from Latin -factiōn-, -factiō (as in satisfactiōn-, satisfactiō satisfaction)

First Known Use

Noun

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for faction

• action
• faction
• fraction
• traction
• abstraction
• attraction
• compaction
• contraction
• detraction
• diffraction
• benefaction
• counteraction

Kids Definition

faction

noun

fac·​tion ˈfak-shən 

: a group acting together within a larger body (as a government) : clique

factional

-shnəl 

-shən-ᵊl

adjective

factionalism

-ˌiz-əm 

noun