quarrel
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A dispute or heated argument.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kwawruhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkwɔɹəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
countable
A dispute or heated argument (especially one that is verbal).
An angry dispute
countable
Often preceded by a form of to have: a basis or ground of dispute or objection; a complaint; also, a feeling or situation of ill will and unhappiness caused by this.
An arrow that is shot from a crossbow; has a head with four edges
verb
intransitivealso figuratively
To argue fiercely; to contend; to squabble; to cease to be on friendly terms, to fall out.
intransitive
To find fault; to cavil.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A dispute or heated argument (especially one that is verbal).
Used this way, quarrel is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use quarrel
- “We quarreled over the question as to who discovered America.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.