faction

1 of 2

noun

fac·​tion ˈfak-shən 

1

: a party or group (as within a government) that is often contentious or self-seeking : clique

The committee soon split into factions.

2

: party spirit especially when marked by dissension

faction, or the irreconcilable conflict of parties

—Ernest Barker

factional

ˈfak-shnəl 

-shə-nᵊl

adjective

factionalism

ˈfak-shnə-ˌli-zəm 

-shə-nə-ˌliz-

noun

factionally

ˈfak-shnəl-ē 

-shə-nᵊl-ē

adverb

-faction

2 of 2

noun combining form

: making : -fication

petrifaction

Synonyms

Noun

• bloc
• block
• body
• coalition
• party
• sect
• set
• side
• wing

Examples of faction in a Sentence

Noun

The committee soon split into factions.

several factions within the environmental movement have joined forces to save this wilderness area

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The artist, who was by then based in Paris, parted ways with the Situationists amid an internal dispute between warring factions within the movement. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 1 July 2024

As a consequence, French opposition to Macron eventually clustered around the far right and far left, factions which have only gained in strength as anger over Macron’s tenure grew among the public. —Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 28 June 2024

That could lead to a move to make Vice President Kamala Harris his replacement, but could also turn into an ugly political food fight between party factions at the Democratic National Convention in early August. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 28 June 2024

Whatever the outcome of this legal dispute may be, one thing’s clear: there’s no love lost between the two factions of the Rivera clan. —Fidel Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French faccion, borrowed from Latin factiōn-, factiō "act of making, social set, band, group, self-seeking political group," from facere "to make, bring about, place, classify" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at fact

Note: A doublet of faction is fashion entry 1, from the Gallo-Romance outcome of Latin factiō, which maintains only the meaning "act of making," sparsely attested outside of early Latin except in legal use.

Noun combining form

borrowed from Latin -factiōn-, -factiō (as in satisfactiōn-, satisfactiō satisfaction)

First Known Use

Noun

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

faction

noun

fac·​tion ˈfak-shən 

: a group acting together within a larger body (as a government) : clique

factional

-shnəl 

-shən-ᵊl

adjective

factionalism

-ˌiz-əm 

noun