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-shnəl 

-shə-nᵊl

adjective

factionalism

ˈfak-shnə-ˌli-zəm 

-shə-nə-ˌliz-

noun

factionally

ˈfak-shnəl-ē 

-shə-nᵊl-ē

adverb

-faction

2 of 2

noun combining form

: making : -fication

petrifaction

Synonyms

Noun

• bloc
• block
• body
• coalition
• party
• sect
• set
• side
• wing

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

But a minority, from a faction of outraged magicians from around the world, were decidedly not. —Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024

McCarthy was ousted by a small faction of his own party after nine months on the job. —John Parkinson, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2024

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

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