fractious
7
9.9
- adjective
- /ˈfrakshəs/
:
irritable
- In the 1970s, a fractious new generation of Afro-American scholars came on the scene.
- often fractious
We kids were sleepy, wired and fractious, the seats in pairs.
- We kids were sleepy, wired and fractious, the seats in pairs.
- Challenges around the world include pollutants, contaminants, deadly bacteria, overwhelmed governments, and fractious political disputes.
Examples
-
In such a fractious atmosphere, the odds seem dangerously stacked against the once-dominant Sunni Arab minority.
Academic text (2006) -
The fractious committee struggled to reach a consensus on the new policy.
-
More than that, someone was needed to calm the fractious court.
Academic text (2004) -
Support for Israel, in fact, was one of the few issues that helped pull the fractious Democratic Party coalition together.
Academic text (2008) -
And then Maud May was in a fractious mood.
Fiction book (1998) -
We're a fractious people and that is our Achilles heel.
-
As it expanded, NATO helped the historically fractious Europe become a peaceful, united, and democratic continent.
Academic text (2006) -
One of Bonaventure's objectives was to show his rather fractious brothers that the Church has always suffered from internal failures.
Academic text (2002) -
Negotiations from an insecure space are likely to be defensive and fractious.
Academic text (1996) -
Meanwhile, the fractious Atlantic alliance, enfeebled by two wars and an economic crisis, is said to be fading away.
Academic text (2010)
Synonyms
117
4.2
Easily annoyed and upset when tired or hungry
41
4.3
Difficult to control and messy or noisy
34
4.4
Behaving badly and not following rules
32
3.7
Quick to become annoyed or angry
32
7.2
Easily annoyed and quick to get angry
22
8.5
Being bad-tempered and stubborn, often hard to deal with
19
8.2
Acting easily annoyed and impatient about small things
13
7.5
Very noisy and full of energy that is hard to control
11
8.1
Not willing to follow rules or accept control
9
8.6
Gets angry easily and often argues with people
5
8.6
Quick to become angry, often at small things
5
7.8
Quick to get annoyed by small things
3
7.8
Likely to argue or fight with other people
3
9.9
Very noisy and hard to control, like a loud crowd
2
7.9
Noisy violent behavior in public that is out of control
1
5.6
Quick to become annoyed or upset
1
8.1
Being easily annoyed by small things
1
9.4
Something that makes people feel annoyed or causes small repeated problems
1
9.9
Being noisy and energetic without control
1
8.7
Hard to control or manage because of stubborn behaviour
Loud and lively in a rough, out of control way
Quick to get annoyed about small things
Easily annoyed by small things
Antonyms
How Difficult
Surface Forms
Morphology
fractious = fracture (opaque) = fract + ious
Formed from the Latin combining form 'fract-' plus the adjective suffix '-ious'; the base combining form is not a standalone English word and the sense 'irritable / likely to cause trouble' is not transparently predictable from 'break' for average learners.
Etymology
Fractious comes from a root that means 'to break', the same root you see in fracture and fraction. Think of a person or animal who easily 'breaks' into anger or trouble — that's why a fractious person is hard to control and likely to cause trouble.