fracas

frac·as

F0289900 (frăk′əs, frā′kəs) n. A noisy, disorderly fight or quarrel. See Synonyms at brawl.

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[French, a sound of smashing, fracas, from French fracasser, to smash, from Italian fracassare, from Old Italian, perhaps from blend of Latin frangere, frāc-, to break; see fracture + Latin quassāre, to shake, shatter, break; see squash².] Usage Note: The traditional pronunciation of fracas has a long a in the first syllable, rhyming roughly with "break us." In the 2015 survey, only 59 percent of the Usage Panel found this pronunciation acceptable, and barely a third of the Panel preferred it. The pronunciation with a short a in the first syllable, rhyming roughly with "track us," is acceptable to 81 percent of the Panel and is in fact preferred by two-thirds of it, offering another example of how the pronunciation of a word can shift over time. · In British English, fracas is commonly pronounced frăk′ä and frə-kä′ (which is similar to the French pronunciation).

fracas

(ˈfrækɑː) na noisy quarrel; brawl[C18: from French, from fracasser to shatter, from Latin frangere to break, influenced by quassāre to shatter]

fra•cas

(ˈfreɪ kəs, ˈfræk əs; Brit. ˈfræk ɑ)

n. a noisy disorderly disturbance or fight. [1720–30; < French < Italian fracassare to smash]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

fracas - noisy quarrel affray, altercationdustup, quarrel, run-in, wrangle, row, words - an angry dispute; "they had a quarrel"; "they had words"batrachomyomachia - a silly altercation

fracas

noun brawl, fight, trouble, row, riot, disturbance, quarrel, uproar, skirmish, scuffle, free-for-all (informal), rumpus, aggro (slang), affray (Law), shindig (informal), donnybrook, scrimmage, shindy (informal), bagarre (French), melee or mêlée In the ensuing fracas many were killed.

fracas

nounInformal. A quarrel, fight, or disturbance marked by very noisy, disorderly, and often violent behavior:affray, brawl, broil, donnybrook, fray, free-for-all, melee, riot, row, ruction, tumult.Slang: rumble.

Translations

AufruhrLärmalborototumultobagarrefracassorissarivoltarixaскандалссора