strife
/strʌɪf
/noun [mass noun]
1Angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict: strife within the community decades of civil strife...
- Many Iraqis hope that it will head off sectarian strife and even civil war.
- Others said Allah was angry that Muslims were killing Muslims in ongoing civil strife.
- Plainly, this kind of guarantee is socially divisive, a recipe for religious controversy if not civil strife.
Synonyms
conflict, friction, discord, disagreement, dissension, variance, dispute, argument, quarrelling, wrangling, bickering, controversy, contention;
disharmony, ill feeling, bad feeling, bad blood, hostility, animosity
informal falling-out
1.1Australian /NZ Trouble or difficulty of any kind.If the labour market doesn't evolve to accommodate the needs of working mothers, there will be strife at home....
- But even so, Fan says an atmosphere of strife and polarisation remains in the society at large.
- One of these days my lack of shame is going to get me into strife.
Origin
Middle English: shortening of Old French estrif (related to Old French estriver 'strive').
strive from Middle English:
Strive and strife both come from shortened forms of Old French estriver ‘strive’. As well as expressing conflict, the word in early examples meant ‘striving together’.