Library / English Dictionary

QUARREL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: quarrelled    , quarrelling   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An arrow that is shot from a crossbow; has a head with four edges

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("quarrel" is a kind of...):

arrow (a projectile with a straight thin shaft and an arrowhead on one end and stabilizing vanes on the other; intended to be shot from a bow)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An angry dispute

Example:

they had words

Synonyms:

dustup; quarrel; row; run-in; words; wrangle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("quarrel" is a kind of...):

conflict; difference; difference of opinion; dispute (a disagreement or argument about something important)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "quarrel"):

affray; altercation; fracas (noisy quarrel)

bicker; bickering; fuss; pettifoggery; spat; squabble; tiff (a quarrel about petty points)

bust-up (a serious quarrel (especially one that ends a friendship))

Derivation:

quarrel (have a disagreement over something)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have a disagreement over something

Example:

These two fellows are always scrapping over something

Synonyms:

altercate; argufy; dispute; quarrel; scrap

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "quarrel" is one way to...):

argue; contend; debate; fence (have an argument about something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "quarrel"):

brawl; wrangle (to quarrel noisily, angrily or disruptively)

spat (engage in a brief and petty quarrel)

polemicise; polemicize; polemise; polemize (engage in a controversy)

fall out (have a breach in relations)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue quarrel

Sam wants to quarrel with Sue

Derivation:

quarrel (an angry dispute)

quarreler; quarreller (a disputant who quarrels)

Credits

 Context examples: 

So far as they knew, there had never been any quarrel between husband and wife.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You will remember that on hearing the sound of the quarrel she descended and returned with the other servants.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There are two or three standing quarrels in the forecastle.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“If we quarrel with him, and he strikes about him, seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can stand against him.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

To quarrel was the one thing they were never too weary to do.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

You are always quarrelling about that knife.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Mr. Knightley might quarrel with her, but Emma could not quarrel with herself.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Do not let us quarrel about the past.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“It does not become our position to quarrel like two yokels at a fair,” said he; “we shall go further into the matter afterwards.”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I felt sure that you was angry with me; and have been quarrelling with myself ever since, for having took such a liberty as to trouble you with my affairs.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)