fractious

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Through sheer force of will, and despite several attempts on his life, President de Gaulle held his fractious country together and established an independent foreign policy, much to the annoyance of the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

As a Shiite-majority nation, Iran has long held fractious and even hostile relationships with Sunni jihadist actors.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

SEOUL—After a six-year hiatus, the first passenger trains connecting the capitals of China and North Korea resumed, a sign of warming ties between two countries that have a history of fractious relations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

A fractious council meeting in December was disrupted by motorists honking their car horns outside, while a man was ejected for barracking councillors with shouts of "shame" after it got under way.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

The fractious archaeological community embraced his ideas with rare unanimity; they rapidly became the standard model for the peopling of the Americas.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann