Standard Lemma guide

altercation

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɒl-/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌɔltɚˈkeɪʃən/
  • Canada, General-American, cot-caught-merger: /ˌɑltɚˈkeɪʃən/
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: AA2 L T ER0 K EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An angry or heated dispute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • to get into an altercation over (something)
  • The shooting resulted from an altercation between two armed intoxicated men.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: argument, wrangle, argy-bargy, altercation, contention, barney, bawl out, blue, bobbery, brawl, clash, conflict, controversy, debate, difference, ding-dong, disagreement, discordance, disharmony, disputation, dispute, dissonance, disunion, dustup, face-off, falling out, feud, fight, flite, hassle, issue, palaver, quarrel, quibble, row, spat, squabble, tangle, threap, tiff

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An act of posing questions to, and obtaining answers from, a witness in a court of law.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, historical

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Angry or heated disputation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

noisy quarrel

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: affray, fracas

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: quarrel, wrangle, row, words, run-in, dustup

Narrower terms: batrachomyomachia

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin altercātiō. Cognates * Catalan altercació * Italian altercazione * Occitan altercatio, altercassion * Portuguese altercação * Spanish altercación

Across languages

Translations

153 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: هَوْشَة (hawša) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Arabic: نِزَاع (nizāʕ) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Arabic: طوشة (ṭōše) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Aramaic: ܚܪܒܐ (ḥarbā) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Aramaic: ܩܪܒܐ (qərāḇā) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Aramaic: ܩܐܪܣܐ — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Azerbaijani: dava — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Bengali: বাহাস (bahaś) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Bengali: বিবাদ (bibad) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Bulgarian: спор (spor) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Catalan: altercació — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Catalan: altercat — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Chinese Mandarin: 爭吵 /争吵 (zhēngchǎo) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Czech: hádka — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Czech: svár — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Czech: váda — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Dalmatian: aplich — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Danish: skænderi — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Dutch: dispuut — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Dutch: schermutseling — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Dutch: woordenwisseling — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Egyptian: ḏꜥ — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Finnish: jupakka — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Finnish: kiista — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Finnish: riita — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Finnish: sanaharkka — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Finnish: sanasota — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Finnish: tappelu — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • French: altercation — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • French: dispute — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • French: empoignade — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • German: Auseinandersetzung — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • German: heftige Auseinandersetzung — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • German: Disput — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • German: Kontroverse — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • German: Streit — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Greek: διαπληκτισμός (diapliktismós) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Ancient Greek: ἀντίρρησις (antírrhēsis) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hindi: बिबाद (bibād) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hindi: चपक़ुलश (capqulaś) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hindi: झगड़ा (jhagṛā) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hindi: रार (rār) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hindi: विवाद (vivād) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hindi: कहासुनी (kahāsunī) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hindi: नोक-झोंक (nok-jhõk) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Hungarian: vita — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: bræta — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: deila — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: orðahnippingar — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: orðakast — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: orðasenna — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: orðaskak — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: rifrildi — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Icelandic: rimma — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: altercazione — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: alterco — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: battibuglio — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: bisticciamento — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: diatriba — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: discussione — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: disputa — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: diverbio — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Italian: litigio — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Jamaican Creole: argument — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Jamaican Creole: cass cass — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Northern Kurdish: gengeşe — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Northern Kurdish: qerqeşe — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Northern Kurdish: cedel — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Ladino: sayran — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Latin: altercātiō — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Latin: certatus — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Latin: iūrgium — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Latin: līs — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Latin: rixa — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Macedonian: кара́ница (karánica) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Macedonian: ка́вга (kávga) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Macedonian: пре́пирка (prépirka) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Macedonian: распра́вија (rasprávija) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Macedonian: спор (spor) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Māori: kekeritanga — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Māori: waunga — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Middle English: altercacioun — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Middle English: noyse — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Norwegian Bokmål: disputt — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Norwegian Bokmål: krangel — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ordveksling — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Pashto: مجادله (mujādalá) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Persian: مشاجره (mošâjere) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Polish: alterkacja — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Polish: kłótnia — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Polish: spór — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Polish: sprzeczka — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Polish: zwada — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Portuguese: altercação — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Portuguese: briga — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Portuguese: disputa — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Portuguese: argumento — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Portuguese: polêmica — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Romanian: altercație — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Russian: ди́спут (dísput) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Russian: перебра́нка (perebránka) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Russian: препира́тельство (prepirátelʹstvo) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Russian: разбо́рка (razbórka) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Russian: спор (spor) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Russian: ссо́ра (ssóra) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: не̏споразум — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: прѐпӣрка — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: спо̏р — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: су́коб — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: nȅsporazum — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: prèpīrka — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: spȍr — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: súkob — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Serbo-Croatian: verbalni súkob — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Sicilian: sciarra — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Slovak: hádka — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Slovak: škriepka — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Slovak: svár — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Slovak: zvada — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Spanish: altercado — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Spanish: alteración — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Spanish: disputa — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Spanish: disensión — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Spanish: rifirrafe — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Spanish: altercación — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Swedish: gräl — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Swedish: ordväxling — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Tagalog: basag-ulo — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Tamil: கலகம் (kalakam) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Tamil: தகராறு (takarāṟu) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Telugu: కజ్జా (kajjā) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Ottoman Turkish: نزاع (nizaʿ) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Ottoman Turkish: چكیش (çekiş) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Ottoman Turkish: پرخاش (perhaş) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Ukrainian: перепа́лка (perepálka) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Ukrainian: сва́рка (svárka) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Urdu: بباد (bibād) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Urdu: چَپْقُلَش (capqulaś) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Urdu: جھگڑا (jhagṛā) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Urdu: رار (rār) — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Welsh: cweryl — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Welsh: ffrae — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Welsh: ffrwgwd — countable: angry or heated dispute
  • Chinese Mandarin: 審判 /审判 (shěnpàn) — countable: act of posing questions to, and obtaining answers from, a witness in a court of law
  • Finnish: todistajan haastattelu — countable: act of posing questions to, and obtaining answers from, a witness in a court of law
  • Chinese Mandarin: 爭吵 /争吵 (zhēngchǎo) — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
  • Finnish: jupakka — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
  • Finnish: kiista — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
  • Finnish: riita — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
  • Finnish: sanaharkka — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
  • Finnish: sanasota — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
  • Finnish: tappelu — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
  • Welsh: cynnen — uncountable: angry or heated disputation
Real reading context

altercation in complete knowledge articles