I. quar ‧ rel 1 /ˈkwɒrəl $ ˈkwɔː-, ˈkwɑː-/ BrE AmE noun [countable] especially British English
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: querele 'complaint' , from Latin querela , from queri 'to complain' ]
1 . an angry argument or disagreement
quarrel with
Jacob left after a quarrel with his wife.
quarrel about/over
They had a quarrel about some girl.
quarrel between
Had there been any quarrel between you?
2 . a reason to disagree with something or argue with someone
quarrel with
My only quarrel with this plan is that it’s going to take far too long.
I have no quarrel with the court’s verdict.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have a quarrel
We had a terrible quarrel last night.
▪ pick a quarrel (=deliberately start one)
Members of the gang were picking quarrels with strangers.
▪ patch up a quarrel British English (=end it)
The brothers eventually patched up their quarrel.
▪ a quarrel breaks out (=starts to happen)
A fresh quarrel broke out between the players.
■ adjectives/NOUN + quarrel
▪ a family quarrel
Your family quarrels are none of my concern.
▪ a lovers’ quarrel
Outside, two teenagers were having a lovers’ quarrel.
▪ bitter (=involving strong feelings of anger or hatred)
They are locked in a bitter quarrel over ownership of the land.
▪ violent
That morning, after a violent quarrel, she threatened him with a kitchen knife.
▪ serious
Soon afterwards, they had their first serious quarrel.
▪ an old quarrel (=one that has existed for a long time)
Now is the time to patch up old quarrels.
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THESAURUS
▪ argument a situation in which people speak angrily to each other because they disagree about something:
an argument between two drivers over who had right of way
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A 29-year-old man was shot and killed today after an argument over a gambling debt.
▪ row British English , fight especially American English a loud angry argument with someone, especially your boyfriend, girlfriend, or someone in your family. Row is also used about a serious disagreement between politicians about important public issues:
There were always fights between my parents.
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the continuing row over tax increases
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A few months ago they had a big row, and Steve drove off and spent the weekend in London.
▪ disagreement a situation in which people disagree with each other, but without shouting or getting angry:
There were the occasional disagreements about money, but mostly we got on well.
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Ginny had left the company after a disagreement with her boss.
▪ quarrel especially British English an argument, especially one in which people get angry and that lasts a long time. Quarrel sounds more formal and more serious than argument or row :
a bitter family quarrel
▪ feud /fjuːd/ a very bitter argument between two groups, especially families, which lasts for many years and causes people to hate each other:
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys raged for 20 years.
▪ dispute a public or legal argument about something, especially one which continues for a long time:
Morris has been involved in a long legal dispute with his publisher.
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The settlement will resolve a long-running dispute over the country’s nuclear program.
▪ war/battle of words an argument in which two people or groups criticize each other continuously in public:
The war of words over construction delays at the airport has erupted again.
▪ bust-up British English informal a very bad argument, especially one in which people decide to separate from each other:
He had a bust-up with the team manager.
▪ shouting match an angry argument in which people shout at each other:
He got into a shouting match with another driver.
▪ slanging match British English informal an argument in which people insult each other:
He was sacked after a slanging match with a colleague.
II. quarrel 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle quarrelled , present participle quarrelling British English , quarreled , quarreling American English ) [intransitive]
to have an argument:
I wish you two would stop quarreling.
quarrel with
I always seem to be quarrelling with my parents.
quarrel about
We’re not going to quarrel about a few dollars.
quarrel with something phrasal verb
to disagree with something or complain about something:
Nobody could quarrel with the report’s conclusions.
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THESAURUS
▪ argue to speak angrily to someone because you disagree with them about something:
Those two are always arguing.
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We rarely argue with each other.
▪ have an argument to argue with someone for a period of time about a particular thing:
She had a long argument with the man who was selling the tickets.
▪ have a row /raʊ/ British English , have a fight especially American English to have an argument with someone, especially with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or a member of your family:
She was upset because she’d had a fight with her boyfriend.
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The couple at the next table were having a row.
▪ quarrel especially British English to argue with someone, especially for a long time and about many different things:
The children quarrel all the time.
▪ squabble /ˈskwɒb ə l $ ˈskwɑː-/ to argue about unimportant things:
The kids were squabbling over what to watch on TV.
▪ fall out with somebody British English to have a big argument with someone that results in you stopping having a friendly relationship with them:
I’ve fallen out with my best friend.
▪ be at each other’s throats if two people are at each other’s throats, they are always arguing in a very angry way:
His parents are constantly at each other’s throats.