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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wild
difficult to manage or control
Security guards were overwhelmed by the fractious crowd at the concert.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fractious
Their already fractious relationship led to the Scot banning him from the first-team dressing rooms at both the training ground and the London Stadium last April.
—
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
The American military presence in Asia is seen by allies as a critical counterbalance in a fractious region where China has been rapidly expanding its military might and a belligerent North Korea has been empowered by closer ties with Russia.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025
This has created creating an unusual wave of national unity in the fractious country.
—Josh Fellman, Quartz, 10 Mar. 2025
Speaker Mike Johnson will attempt to hold the fractious Republican majority together and muscle the 100-page bill through the House on Tuesday, likely without help from Democrats.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
The American military presence in Asia is seen by allies as a critical counterbalance in a fractious region where China has been rapidly expanding its military might and a belligerent North Korea has been empowered by closer ties with Russia.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025
This has created creating an unusual wave of national unity in the fractious country.
—Josh Fellman, Quartz, 10 Mar. 2025
Speaker Mike Johnson will attempt to hold the fractious Republican majority together and muscle the 100-page bill through the House on Tuesday, likely without help from Democrats.
—Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fractious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fractious
Adjective
-
However, all three of these studies come from a closely affiliated group of researchers, are based on the same dataset tracking maternal health, and use contentious measures of both IQ and fluoride exposure.—
Lauren Leffer,
Popular Science,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Policies around taxes, the federal budget and migration were widely seen as contentious points among the parties.—
Sophie Kiderlin,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This transformative research continues today as the longest running wild Chimpanzee study in the world.—
Alexandra Schonfeld,
People.com,
3 Apr. 2025
-
Sure enough, it’s filled with campy setpieces and wild gore that plays well to an audience looking for a wild time.—
William Earl,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
And if anything, the absence of the controversial Le Pen family name is a plus for the rest of the French electorate.—
Cole Stangler,
Time,
1 Apr. 2025
-
But that task will be particularly difficult Tuesday as the second murder trial begins in the case against Karen Read, the woman accused of causing the 2022 death of her police officer boyfriend, in a region that has for years been sharply divided over the controversial case.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
More: China defiant, accuses Trump of 'blackmail' over 104% tariff threat: Live updates On Monday, Trump described similar negotiations underway with Japan as world leaders try to convince the U.S. president to roll back his new tariffs on all imports.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2025
-
What To Know Trump has remained defiant despite mounting fears of recession and a plunging stock market.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
And if his readership remained informed on his doings, the prince and his supporters didn’t succeed in silencing him and the rest of the rebellious faction.—
Emily Zarevich,
JSTOR Daily,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Wearing cowboy boots with shorts is not only a bold stylistic choice but also a practical way to dress for warm weather without giving up the rustic and rebellious touch that the boots bring.—
René Chávez Esparza,
Glamour,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
To further calm the restive passenger, Virgin Atlantic had Emmy-award winning actor Alan Cumming lends his legendary voice to a bedtime story.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
-
But Huntington was trying to account for the third-world basket cases of his time—poor countries whose restive masses kept their governments constantly off-balance.—
Moisés Naím,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The willful reluctance of Western policymakers to recognize the importance of cognitive warfare carries the risk of irreversible losses in power and influence worldwide, the key factors that determine strategic outcomes in global competition.—
Michael Miklaucic,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2025
-
The benefit of that confusion, if there can be any, is that the penalty regime in the Corporate Transparency Act itself only applies to willful behavior.—
Tax Notes Staff,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The words were harsh but the logic was not unreasonable.—
George Caulkin,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
-
This would not be an unreasonable proposition, considering the U.S. already pledged a security guarantee to Ukraine upon its return of all nuclear warheads to Russia by 1996, based on the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.—
Seung-Whan Choi,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fractious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fractious. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share