Synonyms for feud
- noun
Most common
dispute controversy brawl quarrel falling-out strife bickering dissension
All synonyms
Noun
quarrel, dispute, brawl, controversy, bickering, strife, dissension, falling-out, fief, animosity, contest, contention, altercation, enmity, hatred, hostility, clashing, fray, argument, bitterness, affray, broil, disunion, row, fee, rupture, jarring, squabble, fracas, clash, disagreement, scuffle, spat, discord, tiff informal, wrangle, dissonance, logomachy
Definitions
- n. 1
A state of long-standing mutual hostility.
You couldn't call it a feud exactly, but there had always been a chill between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
Related words
- Phrases
- blood feud
Forms
- Plural
- feuds → quarrels, disputes, brawls, controversies…
Choose the right word
A feud is enmity between families, clans, or parties, with acts of hostility mutually retaliated and avenged; feud is rarely used of individuals, never of nations. While all the other words of the group may refer to that which is transient, a feud is long-enduring, and often hereditary.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- dispute Go is a game of dispute and conquest of territory.
- controversy She has waded into one controversy after another.
- brawl Sami and Farid had a brawl right before Christmas.
- quarrel The quarrel left a gulf between the two families.
- strife This is nothing other than stirring up ethnic strife.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| feud | steady | |
| dispute | steady | |
| controversy | falling | |
| brawl | rising | |
| quarrel | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- row1, fee1
- 4 letters
- fray1, spat1, tiff1, fief1
- 5 letters
- clash1, brawl1, broil1
- 6 letters
- hatred2, strife1, enmity3, fracas2, affray
- 7 letters
- contest2, dispute2, discord2, quarrel2, rupture2, jarring2, scuffle2, wrangle2
- 8 letters
- argument3, clashing2, squabble2, disunion3
- 9 letters
- hostility4, animosity5, bickering3, logomachy
- 10 letters
- contention3, bitterness3, dissonance3, dissension3
- 11 letters
- controversy4, altercation4
- 12 letters
- disagreement4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (hatred2 = 2 syllables).