ˈfrakshəs adjective
Etymology: fracti on (I) + -ous
1. : tending to cause trouble (as by disobedience or opposition to an established order) : hard to manage or unmanageable : refractory , unruly
a fractious horse
a ship with a fractious crew threatening mutiny throughout the trip
2. : not smooth or free of trouble in operation : likely to function in unpredictable and troublesome ways
rockets and guided missiles are much too fractious to be tested anywhere near a thickly populated area — Time
loudspeakers remain the most fractious of all high-fidelity components — J.M.Conly
3.
a. : quarrelsome , contrary
at the beginning the crowd was captious and fractious , owing to delays and bad arrangements — Arnold Bennett
b. : peevish , irritable
a fractious child
like a fractious mother hen rounding up a brood of willful chicks — H.J.Higdon
Synonyms: see irritable