Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Given to quarreling; contentious. synonym: argumentative.
- adjective Marked by quarreling.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Apt to quarrel; given to brawls and contention; inclined to petty fighting; easily irritated or provoked to contest; irascible”; choleric; petulant; also, proceeding from or characteristic of such a disposition.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Apt or disposed to quarrel; given to brawls and contention; easily irritated or provoked to contest; irascible; choleric.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Argumentative ;belligerent ;contentious ; given toquarreling .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective given to quarreling
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The fact that men are naturally quarrelsome is presumed to be an argument against such institutions as the League.
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Those, however, who defend the common good and withstand the seditious party are not themselves seditious, even as neither is a man to be called quarrelsome because he defends himself, as stated above.7
The Political Ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas Dino Bigongiari 1997
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Those, however, who defend the common good, and withstand the seditious party, are not themselves seditious, even as neither is a man to be called quarrelsome because he defends himself, as stated above (Q. 41, A. 1).
Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province Aquinas Thomas
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So he steered him with able hand through the angry sea until, just as they reached the table of the Seven, a dangerous stoppage occurred, as a group of peasants came up who wanted to call the quarrelsome fellow to account and attack him from both sides.
Paras. 200–322 1917
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Those who knew him well were aware that his temper was impetuous and precipitate, and on given occasions might be termed quarrelsome without calumny.
It Might Have Been The Story of the Gunpowder Plot Emily Sarah Holt 1864
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But, the court noted, the wife had also engaged in bad behavior (she was described as quarrelsome).
NYT > Home Page By STEPHANIE COONTZ 2010
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Time magazine, echoed that sentiment when he called organized religion "quarrelsome" and "divisive."
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias Carolyn Plocher 2010
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She said they got on "well enough" as house companions but that he'd become "quarrelsome" with drink, especially whiskey.
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Page 17: Pub and club patrons deemed "quarrelsome" will be banned from licensed premises for up to a year and have their personal details, including photographs, published online under proposed changes to the law.
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” Perhaps because I come from the kind of quarrelsome family that is today called ‘dysfunctional,’ I have a natural aptitude for mind games – for sowing confusion, discord and misjudgment – and mind games are ninety percent of this business.
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