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
Trump and Vos have long had a fractious relationship.
—
Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Cue the aforementioned wedding, lavish but hastily put together, and a sudden, drastic change in lifestyle, as she and Junyang are forced to live under the same roof as Boon Kiat and Bee Hwa, a cramped and fractious arrangement even before the baby’s arrival.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 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
Fifty white flags were stained with reddish earth retrieved from each American state, with the intention of highlighting what unifies the fractious nation, not what divides it.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Cue the aforementioned wedding, lavish but hastily put together, and a sudden, drastic change in lifestyle, as she and Junyang are forced to live under the same roof as Boon Kiat and Bee Hwa, a cramped and fractious arrangement even before the baby’s arrival.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 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
Fifty white flags were stained with reddish earth retrieved from each American state, with the intention of highlighting what unifies the fractious nation, not what divides it.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fractious
Adjective
-
There was nothing contentious about that first booking.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
27 Feb. 2026
-
In her first year at the job, Tuttle was broadly praised for her efforts to foster an open and respectful debate on Gaza and other contentious political issues.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Bozeman started 33 of 34 regular-season games plus two AFC wild-card playoff games during his tenure with the Chargers.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The temperature also drops, wild animals transition to their nocturnal routines and stillness fills the air.—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Already the proposal has spurred the district to consider whether to wind down a controversial donation pact with a billionaire resident and neighbor.—
Shun Graves,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates finished behind the French team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron after controversial judging despite pretty clear mistakes by the French.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
If some of the Penguins were upset by the news, Rust was simply defiant.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
-
In recent days, the president has remained defiant on the issue, lashing out at the justices for delivering a legal setback on his tariffs, and looking to impose new global tariffs in a different way.—
Ana Ceballos
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Enter rebellious wild child Violet with the solution.—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
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The nurturing Moon in your 11th House of Charity uplifts rebellious Uranus, potentially sparking surprising invites or plan shifts.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
23 Feb. 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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This willful overreach is more or less business as usual for Albarn and his old housemate Hewlett, who, by conceiving this cartoon combo of multiracial punks in 1998, advanced a vision of pop hybridity that anticipated our age of cultural superabundance.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
27 Feb. 2026
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Savoy pleaded guilty this week to one count of willful failure to account for and pay over trust fund taxes.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Hartsuch appealed, but in October 2025, the Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s ruling, setting the stage for Hartsuch’s newest lawsuit alleging the board’s actions were unreasonable, violated his rights and destroyed his livelihood.—
Clark Kauffman,
Iowa Capital Dispatch,
28 Feb. 2026
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Too much one-sidedness can deplete both enthusiasm and resources — and wanting a roughly reciprocal relationship is not unreasonable.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fractious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fractious. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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