faction

noun

USFAK-shuhn/ˈfæk.ʃən/

4 meanings of faction

1
nouncountable
A small group within a larger one, often political, that shares its own beliefs and stands apart from the rest.
Like a small team inside a big club that wants to do things its own way.
A small faction within the party refused to back the new leader.
Rival factions argued over how to spend the town's money.
Similarfringe
Note
2
noununcountable
A kind of story that mixes real people or events with made-up parts.
Like a true story with some made-up pieces added in.
The author wrote faction, blending true history with invented scenes.
Much modern faction borrows real crimes and adds imagined dialogue.
Similardocudrama
Note
3
noununcountable
Angry disagreement that splits a group into sides that fight each other.
After the election, the club fell into faction, and old friends refused to sit together.
The kingdom was weakened by faction among its nobles.
Similarinfighting, factionalism, dissension, discord, strife
Oppositeunity, harmony, accord, solidarity
Note
4
noununcountable
The true facts that appear inside a made-up story.
Her mystery is invented, but its faction about police work comes from her years as a detective.
The movie mixes faction and fantasy: the battles really happened, but the hero did not.
Similarfact
Oppositefiction, invention
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3

It came from Latin 'factio', meaning a group of people acting together, which came from 'facio', meaning 'do' or 'make'. English got it through Middle French 'faction'.

Meanings 2, 4

It is a mix of the words 'fact' and 'fiction'.