factious

English

WOTD – 17 November 2011

Etymology

From Latin factiosus (“divisive; inclined to separate”); derivative of factio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfækʃəs/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ækʃəs

Adjective

factious (comparative more factious, superlative most factious)

1. Of, pertaining to, or caused by factions.
2. Given to or characterized by discordance or insubordination.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 230:

     I heard that she left off powder, patches, and rouge, for a month when his third consort died, and he grew religious—whether out of grief or gratitude, I never heard; then she grew factious, for the sake of your own King, and thought to strew the way to the altar with straws instead of flowers. I applaud her spirit in fighting for a crown.

Derived terms

• factiousness noun
• factiously adverb

Translations

of, pertaining to, or caused by factions

• Bulgarian: разколнически (bg) (razkolničeski)
• German: Splitter- (de)
• Macedonian: расколнички (raskolnički)
• Russian: раскольнический (ru) (raskolʹničeskij)
• Spanish: sedicioso (es), faccioso (es)

given to or characterized by discordance or insubordination

• German: aufwieglerisch, aufrührerisch (de)

See also

• factitious