quarrel
[noun]
Synonyms:
- disagreement, argument, brawl, breach, contention, controversy, dispute, dissension, feud, fight, row, squabble, tiff
[verb]
Synonyms:
- disagree, argue, bicker, brawl, clash, differ, dispute, fall out (informal), fight, row, squabble

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Contrasted words: accord, concord, harmony, agreement, likemindedness, understanding, unity, agree, coincide, concur
Related Idioms: pribbles and prabbles, have words with, pull caps
Related Words: battle royal, catfight, affray, bobbery, broil, donnybrook, fray, free-for-all, melee, ruction, rumpus, scrap, scrimmage, scuffle, conflict, contention, difference, discord, dissension, strife, variance, disagreement, misunderstanding, differ, disaccord, dissent, divide, vary, bump, clash, collide, thwart, battle, contend, fight, war

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English Thesaurus: argue, have an argument, have a row, quarrel, squabble, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. quar‧rel¹ /ˈkwɒrəl $ ˈkwɔː-, ˈkwɑː-/ noun [countable] especially British English
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: querele 'complaint', from Latin querela, from queri 'to complain']

1. an angry argument or disagreement
quarrel with
Jacob left after a quarrel with his wife.
quarrel about/over
They had a quarrel about some girl.
quarrel between
Had there been any quarrel between you?

2. a reason to disagree with something or argue with someone
quarrel with
My only quarrel with this plan is that it’s going to take far too long.
I have no quarrel with the court’s verdict.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. quarrel² verb (past tense and past participle quarrelled, present participle quarrelling British English, quarreled, quarreling American English) [intransitive]
to have an argument:
I wish you two would stop quarreling.
quarrel with
I always seem to be quarrelling with my parents.
quarrel about
We’re not going to quarrel about a few dollars.
quarrel with something phrasal verb
to disagree with something or complain about something:
Nobody could quarrel with the report’s conclusions.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

quarrel
noun
ADJ. bitter, fierce, serious, violent | family, internal, lovers', private | long-standing, old
VERB + QUARREL pick I don't want to pick a quarrel with her.
be/become/get involved in He got involved in a quarrel with his neighbour.
make up, patch up, settle
QUARREL + VERB break out, ensue
PREP. ~ about a quarrel about money
~ between a quarrel between family members
~ over a quarrel over the ownership of a piece of land
~ with Our quarrel is not with the people, but with their leader.
PHRASES have no quarrel with sb/sth We have no quarrel with their plans, in fact we support them.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

quarrel
verb
ADV. bitterly, fiercely, violently
PREP. about, over What did you two quarrel about?
with He wished he hadn't quarrelled with Tania.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

quarrel

have a quarrel
We had a terrible quarrel last night.
pick a quarrel (=deliberately start one)
Members of the gang were picking quarrels with strangers.
patch up a quarrel British English (=end it)
The brothers eventually patched up their quarrel.
a quarrel breaks out (=starts to happen)
A fresh quarrel broke out between the players.
a family quarrel
Your family quarrels are none of my concern.
a lovers’ quarrel
Outside, two teenagers were having a lovers’ quarrel.
bitter (=involving strong feelings of anger or hatred)
They are locked in a bitter quarrel over ownership of the land.
violent
That morning, after a violent quarrel, she threatened him with a kitchen knife.
serious
Soon afterwards, they had their first serious quarrel.
an old quarrel (=one that has existed for a long time)
Now is the time to patch up old quarrels.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

quarrel
verb
DUBIOUS: Sometimes we quarrel about which programme to watch.
GOOD: Sometimes we argue about which programme to watch.

Usage Note:
When people quarrel they argue angrily, especially for a long time about something that is unimportant: 'If you two boys don't stop quarrelling, you can go straight to bed.'
People can argue without feeling angry or looking silly: 'Most evenings we would sit in the kitchen arguing about politics.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

argue to speak angrily to someone because you disagree with them about something:
Those two are always arguing.
We rarely argue with each other.
have an argument to argue with someone for a period of time about a particular thing:
She had a long argument with the man who was selling the tickets.
have a row /raʊ/ British English, have a fight especially American English to have an argument with someone, especially with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or a member of your family:
She was upset because she’d had a fight with her boyfriend.
The couple at the next table were having a row.
quarrel especially British English to argue with someone, especially for a long time and about many different things:
The children quarrel all the time.
squabble /ˈskwɒbəl $ ˈskwɑː-/ to argue about unimportant things:
The kids were squabbling over what to watch on TV.
fall out with somebody British English to have a big argument with someone that results in you stopping having a friendly relationship with them:
I’ve fallen out with my best friend.
be at each other’s throats if two people are at each other’s throats, they are always arguing in a very angry way:
His parents are constantly at each other’s throats.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

argument a situation in which people speak angrily to each other because they disagree about something:
an argument between two drivers over who had right of way
A 29-year-old man was shot and killed today after an argument over a gambling debt.
row British English, fight especially American English a loud angry argument with someone, especially your boyfriend, girlfriend, or someone in your family. Row is also used about a serious disagreement between politicians about important public issues:
There were always fights between my parents.
the continuing row over tax increases
A few months ago they had a big row, and Steve drove off and spent the weekend in London.
disagreement a situation in which people disagree with each other, but without shouting or getting angry:
There were the occasional disagreements about money, but mostly we got on well.
Ginny had left the company after a disagreement with her boss.
quarrel especially British English an argument, especially one in which people get angry and that lasts a long time. Quarrel sounds more formal and more serious than argument or row:
a bitter family quarrel
feud /fjuːd/ a very bitter argument between two groups, especially families, which lasts for many years and causes people to hate each other:
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys raged for 20 years.
dispute a public or legal argument about something, especially one which continues for a long time:
Morris has been involved in a long legal dispute with his publisher.
The settlement will resolve a long-running dispute over the country’s nuclear program.
war/battle of words an argument in which two people or groups criticize each other continuously in public:
The war of words over construction delays at the airport has erupted again.
bust-up British English informal a very bad argument, especially one in which people decide to separate from each other:
He had a bust-up with the team manager.
shouting match an angry argument in which people shout at each other:
He got into a shouting match with another driver.
slanging match British English informal an argument in which people insult each other:
He was sacked after a slanging match with a colleague.
argue to speak angrily to someone because you disagree with them about something:
Those two are always arguing.
We rarely argue with each other.
have an argument to argue with someone for a period of time about a particular thing:
She had a long argument with the man who was selling the tickets.
have a row /raʊ/ British English, have a fight especially American English to have an argument with someone, especially with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or a member of your family:
She was upset because she’d had a fight with her boyfriend.
The couple at the next table were having a row.
squabble /ˈskwɒbəl $ ˈskwɑː-/ to argue about unimportant things:
The kids were squabbling over what to watch on TV.
fall out with somebody British English to have a big argument with someone that results in you stopping having a friendly relationship with them:
I’ve fallen out with my best friend.
be at each other’s throats if two people are at each other’s throats, they are always arguing in a very angry way:
His parents are constantly at each other’s throats.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

argument a situation in which people speak angrily to each other because they disagree about something:
an argument between two drivers over who had right of way
A 29-year-old man was shot and killed today after an argument over a gambling debt.
row British English, fight especially American English a loud angry argument with someone, especially your boyfriend, girlfriend, or someone in your family. Row is also used about a serious disagreement between politicians about important public issues:
There were always fights between my parents.
the continuing row over tax increases
A few months ago they had a big row, and Steve drove off and spent the weekend in London.
disagreement a situation in which people disagree with each other, but without shouting or getting angry:
There were the occasional disagreements about money, but mostly we got on well.
Ginny had left the company after a disagreement with her boss.
quarrel especially British English an argument, especially one in which people get angry and that lasts a long time. Quarrel sounds more formal and more serious than argument or row:
a bitter family quarrel
feud /fjuːd/ a very bitter argument between two groups, especially families, which lasts for many years and causes people to hate each other:
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys raged for 20 years.
dispute a public or legal argument about something, especially one which continues for a long time:
Morris has been involved in a long legal dispute with his publisher.
The settlement will resolve a long-running dispute over the country’s nuclear program.
war/battle of words an argument in which two people or groups criticize each other continuously in public:
The war of words over construction delays at the airport has erupted again.
bust-up British English informal a very bad argument, especially one in which people decide to separate from each other:
He had a bust-up with the team manager.
shouting match an angry argument in which people shout at each other:
He got into a shouting match with another driver.
slanging match British English informal an argument in which people insult each other:
He was sacked after a slanging match with a colleague.
squabble /ˈskwɒbəl $ ˈskwɑː-/ an argument about something that is not important:
There were the usual squabbles between brothers and sisters.
Voters are tired of petty squabbles between party leaders.
tiff informal an argument that is not very serious, between people who are in love:
Gary had a bit of a tiff with his girlfriend.
misunderstanding a slight argument – a rather formal word which is often used humorously:
There was a slight misunderstanding over the bill, but everything’s been sorted out now.
skirmish a short argument, especially between politicians or sports opponents:
Evans and O'Brien had several political skirmishes.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲