Altercation
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English
Etymology
French altercation, from Latin altercatio.
Pronunciation
IPA: WEAE /ɔl.tɚˈke.ʃən/
Noun
- Warm contention in words; dispute carried on with heat or anger; controversy; wrangle; wordy contest.
Usage: The term dispute is in most cases, but not necessarily, applied to a verbal contest; as, a dispute on the lawfulness of war. An altercation is an angry dispute between two parties, involving an interchange of severe language. A wrangle is a confused and noisy altercation.
Quotations
“What the hell is it to you who are my friends?” roared McMurdo in a voice which brought every head in the carriage round to witness the altercation. “Did I ask you for your advice, or did you think me such a sucker that I couldn't move without it? You speak when you are spoken to, and by the Lord you'd have to wait a long time if it was me!” He thrust out his face and grinned at the patrolmen like a snarling dog.
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Valley of Fear
Synonyms
Dispute, Wrangle.
