Meanings
comparative more quarrelsome · superlative most quarrelsome
- Argumentative; fond of or prone to quarreling.
She's too quarrelsome to participate in a civil conversation.
2 more examples
And let a Man bevvare, hovv he keepeth Company, vvith Cholerick and Quarelſome Perſons; for they vvill engage him into their ovvne Quarels.
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Trauaile”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC, page 104Rampion grown in the cottage garden made the children of the house quarrelsome; breathing deeply into a handful of mint refreshed your senses, but aconite could cause your death.
1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 254Synonyms: belligerent, combative, contentious, litigious, agonistic, argumentative, bangsome, bellicose
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveArgumentative; fond of or prone to quarreling.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivegiven to quarreling
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian свадлив
- свадлив (svadliv)given to quarreling
Czech hádavý
- hádavýgiven to quarreling
Dutch twistziek, ruzieachtig
- twistziekgiven to quarreling
- ruzieachtiggiven to quarreling
Esperanto kverelema
- kverelemagiven to quarreling
Finnish riitaisa, räyhäkäs
- riitaisagiven to quarreling
- räyhäkäsgiven to quarreling
- toraisagiven to quarreling
French querelleux, querelleur
- querelleuxgiven to quarreling
- querelleurgiven to quarreling
German streitsüchtig, zänkisch
- streitsüchtiggiven to quarreling
- zänkischgiven to quarreling
- unverträglichgiven to quarreling
- zanksüchtiggiven to quarreling
- händelsüchtiggiven to quarreling
- hadersüchtiggiven to quarreling
- streitlustiggiven to quarreling
Greek κακότροπος
- κακότροπος (kakótropos)given to quarreling
Hungarian veszekedős
- veszekedősgiven to quarreling
Irish achrannach, clamprach
- achrannachgiven to quarreling
- clamprachgiven to quarreling
- imreasachgiven to quarreling
- cointinneachgiven to quarreling
- trodachgiven to quarreling
- anglántagiven to quarreling
- argántagiven to quarreling
- bruíonachgiven to quarreling
Māori pākani, tumatuma
- pākanigiven to quarreling
- tumatumagiven to quarreling
- nihonihogiven to quarreling
- pakapakagiven to quarreling
- ngawerigiven to quarreling
- toheririgiven to quarreling
Norwegian Bokmål trettekjær, kranglevoren
- trettekjærgiven to quarreling
- kranglevorengiven to quarreling
Polish swarliwy, kłótliwy
- swarliwygiven to quarreling
- kłótliwygiven to quarreling
- awanturniczygiven to quarreling
Russian сварливый, склочный
- сварливый (svarlivyj)given to quarreling
- склочный (skločnyj)given to quarreling
Scottish Gaelic connsachail, connspaideach
- connsachailgiven to quarreling
- connspaideachgiven to quarreling
- dranndanachgiven to quarreling
Spanish rijoso, pleitista
- rijosogiven to quarreling
- pleitistagiven to quarreling
- leguleyogiven to quarreling
- porfiadorgiven to quarreling
- quilomberogiven to quarreling
- picapleitosgiven to quarreling
- querellosogiven to quarreling
- querellantegiven to quarreling
- querelladorgiven to quarreling
- pendencierogiven to quarreling
- camorristagiven to quarreling
- peleóngiven to quarreling
Swedish grälsjuk
- grälsjukgiven to quarreling
Tagalog palabangay
- palabangaygiven to quarreling
Welsh cwerylgar, ffraegar
- cwerylgargiven to quarreling
- ffraegargiven to quarreling
- cecrusgiven to quarreling
- cynhennusgiven to quarreling
- ymrafaelgargiven to quarreling
- ymrysongargiven to quarreling
Cite this entry
quarrelsome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quarrelsome
“quarrelsome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quarrelsome. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quarrelsome,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quarrelsome.
Source: quarrelsome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.