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

From the sidelines, an indefatigably kind and patient nurse (Fisayo Akinade) observes these fractious family dynamics with a rueful twinkle, gently counseling the dying matriarch as to how to bring her brood back together. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 Dec. 2025

The final hours before passage were not without some drama as House Speaker Mike Johnson struggled to maintain control of his fractious majority. —Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025

Congressional Republicans are actually fractious at best, like a room of feral cats the rest of the time—which is why Trump passed only one major piece of legislation in his first term and Republican House speakers last as long as the average mayfly. —Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025

But by the time Season 11 ended on a messy, emotional, fourth-wall-breaking note, the cast had become too fractious (and expensive) to retain. —Judy Berman, Time, 4 Dec. 2025

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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