DictionaryAI

quarrel

KWAW-ruhl/ˈkwɔɹəl/KWO-ruhl/ˈkwɒɹ(ə)l/

Pluralquarrels

Verbquarrels

12 meanings of quarrel

Practice

  1. 1
    argumentnouncountable
    A disagreement or angry argument, especially a spoken one.

    My brother and I had a quarrel about who should wash the dishes.

    Their quarrels usually ended with someone slamming a door.

    Similarargument, fight, dispute, disagreement, altercation

    Note
  2. 2
    argueverbfigurativelyintransitive
    To argue angrily, sometimes about small things, or to stop being friendly with someone.

    My little sisters quarrel over the front seat every morning.

    Jen and her best friend quarreled last year and still don't talk.

    Similarargue, fight, squabble, bicker, row

    Oppositeagree

    Note
  3. 3
    objectionnouncountable
    A reason to disagree or complain, or the bad feeling between people that it causes.

    I have no quarrel with the new rules. They seem fair to me.

    Her one quarrel with the school was the early start time.

    Similarobjection, complaint, grievance, problem, issue

    Note
  4. 4
    verbintransitive
    To say that something is wrong or not good enough, sometimes over small details.

    I can't quarrel with your answer, because it makes perfect sense.

    He quarrels with every little detail of the menu.

    Similardispute, challenge, question, criticize

    Note
  5. 5
    crossbow arrownounhistoricalcountable
    A short arrow, or bolt, shot from a crossbow, usually with a four-sided head.

    The museum shows a rusty quarrel next to an old crossbow.

    Here be two arblasts, comrade, with windlaces and quarrells—to the barbican with you, and see you drive each bolt through a Saxon brain.
    1819, Walter Scott, IvanhoeHere, quarrells means short arrows or bolts shot from a crossbow.

    Similarbolt

    Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1, 3, 6

From an old French word that came from Latin querela, meaning 'complaint'. That Latin word comes from a verb meaning 'to complain'.

Meanings 2, 4, 7

From a Middle English verb made from the noun quarrel, meaning an argument.

Meanings 5, 8–9

From an old French word for a crossbow bolt or a square tile. It comes from Latin quadrum, 'a square', which comes from the Latin word for 'four'.