Fractious

Fractious is an adjective describing someone or something that is irritable, quarrelsome, or difficult to control. It can refer to a person, a group, or a situation that tends to disrupt order or provoke disagreement.

Etymology and sense history: The word comes from Latin fractus meaning broken, via Old French fractieux. Historically, it conveyed a sense of being prone to breaking or disrupting order, and it has since developed the common modern meaning of irritability and unruliness.

Usage notes: Fractious is often used with nouns such as crowd, committee, child, politics, or debate. Examples include “a fractious child,” “fractious politics,” and “a fractious meeting.” The term usually carries a negative connotation, signaling irritability, stubbornness, or tendency to cause trouble. It can describe both individual behavior and group dynamics, including efforts to reach consensus that repeatedly stall or derail.

Related terms: Fractiousness (noun) and fractiously (adverb) derive from fractious. The word is closely related to, but distinct from, factious, which emphasizes factionalism rather than general unruliness. Fractious typically implies disorder or irritability, whereas obstinate or unruly might describe stubbornness without the implication of disruption.

Pronunciation: /ˈfræk.ti.əs/ (FRACK-tee-əs).

See also: fractiousness, obstreperous, querulous, irascible, unruly.