n.
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English querele, from Anglo-French, from Latin querela grievance, complaint, from queri to complain
Date: 14th century
1 : a ground of dispute or complaint <have no quarrel with a different approach>
2 : a usually verbal conflict between antagonists : ALTERCATION
synonyms QUARREL , WRANGLE , ALTERCATION , SQUABBLE mean a noisy dispute usually marked by anger. QUARREL implies heated verbal contention, stressing strained or severed relations which may persist beyond the contention <a quarrel nearly destroyed the relationship>. WRANGLE suggests undignified and often futile disputation with a noisy insistence on differing opinions < wrangle interminably about small issues>. ALTERCATION implies fighting with words as the chief weapon, although it may also connote blows <a loud public altercation >. SQUABBLE stresses childish and unseemly dispute over petty matters, but it need not imply bitterness or anger <a brief squabble over what to do next>.