dissension

1 a lack of agreement or harmony religious dissension threatened to split the colony Synonyms conflict, disaccord, discordance, discordancy, disharmony, discord (also dissention), dissent, dissidence, dissonance, disunion, disunity, division, friction, infighting, inharmony, schism, strife, variance, war, warfareRelated Words clash, collision, competition, contention; altercation, argument, bicker, brawl, debate, disagreement, dispute, divide, fissure; falling-out, fight, hassle, jar, miff, mix-up, quarrel, row, run-in, scrap, spat, squabble, tiff, wrangle; incompatibility, incongruence, incongruity, incongruousness, inconsistence, inconsistency, inconsonance, inharmoniousness; animosity, antagonism, antipathy, cold war, enmity, hostility, ill will, rancorNear Antonyms concurrence, cooperationAntonyms accord, agreement, concord, concordance, harmony, peace

2 variance of opinion on a matter continued dissension among historians on the exact spot of Columbus's first landing Synonyms contestation, controversy, debate, difference, difficulty, disputation, dispute, disagreement (also dissention), dissensus, firestorm, nonconcurrenceRelated Words clash, collision, conflict, confliction, disaccord, discord, dissonance; apartness, divarication, division; combat, contention, strife, struggle; altercation, argument, bicker, falling-out, fight, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, set-toNear Antonyms acceptance, compliance; concord, peaceAntonyms accord, agreement, consensus, harmony, unanimity