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
Many who took the survey saw Goldberg-Polin as too moral to get involved in the rough and tumble world of Israel’s fractious political scene.
—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Now, Tveit adds, the musical feels more on the nose amid the current fractious political climate.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
Netanyahu’s party has continued to grow increasingly fractious, with hard-right members of his party threatening to bring down his government over any concessions made in the war against Hamas.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2025
As minority leader, Caldwell will steer an at-times fractious caucus whose members are outnumbered nearly 2-to-1 by their Democratic colleagues.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
Now, Tveit adds, the musical feels more on the nose amid the current fractious political climate.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
Netanyahu’s party has continued to grow increasingly fractious, with hard-right members of his party threatening to bring down his government over any concessions made in the war against Hamas.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2025
As minority leader, Caldwell will steer an at-times fractious caucus whose members are outnumbered nearly 2-to-1 by their Democratic colleagues.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fractious
Adjective
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The permits that both companies have received to test and operate their self-driving vehicles became a contentious issue in the lead up to the listings.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
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The three faced off in two contentious debates in October, in which Mamdani and Cuomo sparred over issues of integrity and experience while Sliwa sought to paint them as two sides of the same ideological coin.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The honks of wild Canada geese, for instance, fresh out of the Arctic and now high in the clouds going south, signal a change in seasons for me.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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The Jets finally earned their first win of the season in Week 8 after a wild comeback against the Cincinnati Bengals, but with their 1-7 record and seemingly no future in sight, new general manager Darren Mougey has opted to ship his star corner.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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As my colleague Sam McDowell noted last month, the Chiefs’ have a short-yardage play that’s more effective than the Eagles’ controversial Tush Push.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
2 Nov. 2025
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Mamdani initially tried to stay on-message, offering a quick disavowal of an unsavory association or controversial past statement and pivoting back his agenda.—
Ben Adler,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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On Monday afternoon, Petro remained defiant.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
21 Oct. 2025
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This Irish American neighborhood is famous for its quirky upside-down traffic light, where green proudly sits above red—a symbol of its defiant community spirit.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As for the Banks sisters, Ashley (Akira Akbar) works through a rebellious phase during her freshman year as Hilary (Coco Jones) goes on a journey of self-exploration.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
3 Nov. 2025
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To be clear, there is no sense that Rondón and Ugás are defending the old guard or suggesting that a docile, starving population pinioned under the grip of a dictatorship is big-picture preferable to a rebellious insurgency.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Labour MPs are becoming restive.—
Anand Menon,
Time,
18 Oct. 2025
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The standoff is a political test for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who has drawn scorn from a restive base of left-flank voters pushing the party to hold firm in its demands for health care funding.—
Mary Clare Jalonick,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Penalties can reach up to roughly $51,500 per violation, along with multiyear bans on new visa petitions for willful breaches, according to DOL enforcement guidelines.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
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Tessa Thompson stars as the willful heroine, married to a rather meek academic, George Tesman (Tom Bateman), who’s angling for an important university position.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Civil Code Section 4740 grandfathers rental prohibitions, while Section 4741 bans rental prohibitions and unreasonable restrictions.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
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But this is perhaps an artificial high tempo, dictated by an unreasonable number of substitutes.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fractious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fractious. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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