infighting

noun

in·​fight·​ing ˈin-ˌfī-tiŋ 

1

: prolonged and often bitter dissension or rivalry among members of a group or organization

bureaucratic infighting

2

: rough-and-tumble fighting

3

: fighting or boxing at close quarters

infight

ˈin-ˌfīt 

intransitive verb

infighter

ˈin-ˌfī-tər 

noun

Synonyms of infighting

• discord
• strife
• friction
• conflict
• discordance
• war
• schism
• warfare
• discordancy
• dissent
• division

Examples of infighting in a Sentence

continued infighting has just completely robbed that political action committee of its effectiveness

Recent Examples on the Web

While the heat on Greenland has subsided for now, the infighting has seriously undercut the ability of the world’s biggest security alliance to deter adversaries, analysts say. —Lorne Cook, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2026

The city’s eleven-person legislature had been roiled for decades by infighting between its left and center-left factions. —Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026

There are signs, too, of infighting within the administration. —Jamelle Bouie, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026

Just as those revolutionary murals have sun-bleached and blistered, so the heady jubilation of the students’ victory has become tarnished by infighting and division. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1816, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for infighting

• alighting
• backbiting
• bullfighting
• daylighting
• delighting
• exciting
• firefighting
• handwriting
• highlighting
• igniting
• inciting
• indicting