litigious

adjective

li·​ti·​gious lə-ˈti-jəs 

li-

1

a

: disputatious, contentious

in a litigious mood

b

: prone to engage in lawsuits

an increasingly litigious society

2

: subject to litigation

not known to be litigious when purchased

—James Muirhead

3

: of, relating to, or marked by litigation

a litigious situation

litigiously adverb

litigiousness noun

Examples of litigious in a Sentence

a very litigious group of people

this litigious age in which we live

Recent Examples on the Web

Nintendo — the Japanese video-game giant behind franchises like Mario and Zelda, an entire lineage of consoles, and co-owner of the Pokémon Company — is a famously litigious entity with a robust track record of effectively clamping down on anything even giving off a whiff of copyright infringement. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2024

And college sports, which is still grappling with athletes as employee legal challenges, would return to a heavily litigious environment for years to come. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019

It’s been said that Americans are way too litigious for our own good — too many lawyers, too many aggrieved parties filing lawsuits instead of settling petty disputes. —Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 1 Mar. 2024

Haddix sees Tonka as her son, but when another employee at the complex contacts People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights group, over concerns about the living conditions of the chimps, the notoriously litigious organization takes swift action to have the apes removed. —Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 18 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin litigiosus, from litigium dispute, from litigare

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Legal Definition

litigious

adjective

li·​ti·​gious li-ˈti-jəs 

1

: prone to engage in lawsuits or legal maneuvers especially to an excessive degree

a litigious pro se prisoner … filed fifty-one cases

—In re Oliver, 682 F.2d 443 (1982)

2

: subject to litigation

acquired only a possible litigious claim

—Wells v. Joseph, 95 So. 2d 843 (1957)

3

: of, relating to, or marked by litigation

litigiously adverb

litigiousness noun