quarrelsome

adjective

quar·​rel·​some ˈkwȯr(-ə)l-səm 

ˈkwär(-ə)l-

: apt or disposed to quarrel in an often petty manner : contentious

quarrelsomely adverb

quarrelsomeness noun

Synonyms

• aggressive
• militant
• hostile
• contentious
• irritable
• belligerent
• combative

Choose the Right Synonym for quarrelsome

belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious, quarrelsome, contentious mean having an aggressive or fighting attitude.

belligerent often implies being actually at war or engaged in hostilities.

belligerent nations

bellicose suggests a disposition to fight.

a drunk in a bellicose mood

pugnacious suggests a disposition that takes pleasure in personal combat.

a pugnacious gangster

quarrelsome stresses an ill-natured readiness to fight without good cause.

the heat made us all quarrelsome

contentious implies perverse and irritating fondness for arguing and quarreling.

wearied by his contentious disposition

Examples of quarrelsome in a Sentence

a quarrelsome student who was always being sent to the principal's office for starting fights in the halls

you're so quarrelsome: you can never do anything without a fuss

Recent Examples on the Web

He’s installed a pair of Brits, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, as the quarrelsome couple, and there are no two finer actors to take on the tangle of insults penned by Tony McNamara, who wrote the screenplay. —Katie Walsh, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025

Wolf-dogs are quarrelsome, but not a great deal more so than normal sled dogs. —Ted Updike, Outdoor Life, 22 May 2025

The magisterium seems intact, even among the often quarrelsome American branch. —Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 9 May 2025

And what of the fact that Snow White, abandoned in the woods (where the Huntsman is too kindhearted to carry out the Evil Queen’s order to murder her), comes upon a cottage where seven cute, quarrelsome 249-year-old short men with Amish beards live in bachelor squalor and become her protectors? —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

quarrelsome

adjective

quar·​rel·​some ˈkwȯr(-ə)l-səm 

ˈkwär(-ə)l-

: usually ready to quarrel