1
as in contentious
given to disagreement or irritation
At the end of what was a fractious campaign, the two former rivals were surprisingly able to settle some of their differences and work together.
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2
as in wild
difficult to manage or control
Security guards were overwhelmed by the fractious crowd at the concert.
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Recent Examples of fractious
Politics in Chicago can be fierce and fractious.
—
Scott Simon, NPR, 21 Feb. 2026
But few have attracted as much scrutiny – or commentary – as Gu at a time when the US and China are in an increasingly fractious geopolitical rivalry.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Trump and Vos have long had a fractious relationship.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 19 Feb. 2026
At a club where relations with fans have been fractious for several years, Pereira became the heart of a brief but emotional reconnection.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Scott Simon, NPR, 21 Feb. 2026
But few have attracted as much scrutiny – or commentary – as Gu at a time when the US and China are in an increasingly fractious geopolitical rivalry.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Trump and Vos have long had a fractious relationship.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 19 Feb. 2026
At a club where relations with fans have been fractious for several years, Pereira became the heart of a brief but emotional reconnection.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fractious
Adjective
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The 8-7 vote came after a contentious hearing Wednesday and sent the Cabinet nomination to the full Senate, which could act to confirm the Oklahoma Republican next week.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The contentious film has been brewing in the background of its subjects’ notoriously sexist social media accounts for the past year as Theroux pieced his documentary together behind the scenes.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Guests can trek with the chef into neighboring farmland to forage alongside the Hmong hill tribe for wild herbs such as mint, butterfly pea flowers, mushrooms, and acacia leaves.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Mikey Anderson posted a goal and an assist, Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore also scored, and Quinton Byfield had two assists for the Kings (28-24-15), who went 3-1-1 on their five-game trip and moved into a tie with the Seattle Kraken for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The group further alleges selective enforcement, saying other student organizations have remained recognized despite controversial speech by their members.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
16 Mar. 2026
-
These lower guardrails have led the chatbot to generate controversial or incendiary outputs at times, for example churning out antisemitic posts after a technical update in July.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Sadly, the last Blockbuster (aside from one defiant Bend, Oregon, outlier) went out to pasture in 2014, and independent video stores are an increasingly rare sight.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
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Trump then appeared defiant in the face of any backlash over his post.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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As the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’ newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to the remote paradise sideways.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
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Thoughtful and easygoing offstage, Peaches’ seemingly rebellious onstage shenanigans are hardly a reaction to her upbringing.—
Katherine Turman,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Pakistan's military, in a statement, said 26 militants, including at least one Afghan, were killed in four separate operations in North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Mir Ali districts in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent days, near the Afghan border.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
25 Feb. 2026
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Sarwar’s decision to call for Starmer to step down could embolden restive Labour lawmakers to do the same.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The pattern is so consistent across the centuries that ignoring this requires a willful act of historical illiteracy.—
Anthony Scaramucci,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
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Like Becky Sharp, the willful, wicked lead of William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, Heidi rolled her eyes at her dutiful counterpart.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Both Jaynes and Meany were accused by the Justice Department of aiding and abetting the deprivation of Taylor's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
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When patients have few to no symptoms, a kidney biopsy seems like an expensive and unreasonable ask.—
Charles Schmidt,
Scientific American,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fractious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fractious. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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