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Glite Dictionary
factious

factious

1 9.5
Causing disagreement and division within a group
  • adjective
  • /ˈfækʃəs/
translation icon : faccionario
  • Lebanon, a microcosm of Arab particularism and factious predisposition, soon fell into a gruesome civil war.

Examples

  • Providing a disinterested assessment of these ideas is not easy in the present ideologically charged and factious atmosphere.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Ah, election year - when we all enjoy front-row seats to the factious, bickering maelstrom that is modern wedge-issue political culture.

    Blog text (1)

  • Ye are a factious crew and enemies to all good government.

    Blog text (8)

  • Instead, each potentially factious interest would come to realize that its own good could be pursued only through compromise.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Besides, the relationship between the overseas and domestic dissidents is complicated, with factious conflicts being clear.

    Academic text (2000)

  • In the last decade, however, strategic and tactical discussions have taken center stage and become decidedly more factious.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Your detractors within Maoism itself label your intellectualism and factious character as Trotskyist.

    Academic text (1993)

  • "Tocqueville thought small parties "selfish," adding: "They glow with a factious zeal; their language is violent, but their progress is timid and uncertain."

    Academic text (1992)

  • If human diversity were allowed to flourish in an extended commercial republic and channeled politically through a system of representation and separation of powers, no single factious interest would be able to effectuate its will.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The board meeting was tense, filled with factious remarks that revealed deep divisions among the members.

Synonyms

divisive
vsfactious
92 6.8

Making people disagree and split into groups

focuses on individuals who promote internal splits rather than only causing disagreement
dissentious
vsfactious
  • Archaic
9.9

Likely to disagree with most people and start arguments

is more about causing splits and ongoing division in the group
disputative
vsfactious
8.6

Often ready to argue with people

is more about creating group divisions than just arguing with others
conflictive
vsfactious
7.4

Showing that facts or statements do not match

refers to a tendency to provoke internal splits rather than mere incompatibility

Antonyms

cooperative
119 3.5

Willing to work with other people to reach a shared goal

harmonious
14 4.2

People who live and work together peacefully

How Divisive

schismatic
  • Formal
1 9.9
divisive
92 6.8
factious
1 9.5
fractious
7 9.9

Surface Forms

factious positive

Morphology

factious = faction (semi-transparent) = faction + ous

Derived from 'faction' + '-ous'; the meaning 'relating to faction' is recoverable, but orthographic change (loss of 'n') and lower-frequency base make the relation somewhat non-obvious to learners.

Etymology

Factious comes from the Latin root facere ('to make') and is related to faction, a word for a small group that acts apart. So a factious person or group 'makes' a separate side and causes a split inside a larger group.